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Considering he who's forfeited nearly 40 years of his life because of a crime he had no involvement in, Peter Sullivan maintains a surprisingly hopeful tone.

During our encounter last month, for what was his first interview since being freed from prison in May, he was cheerful and eagerly anticipating getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the opening match since he was taken into custody in 1986.

That was the year of the sexual attack murder of Diane Sindall in his local community of Birkenhead - an occurrence he said he only knew about because someone approached him in a pub at the time and said, "apparently there's been a murder".

When he was sentenced the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was condemned to a lifetime in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be tormented by his tabloid nicknames "The Beast of Birkenhead", "River Mersey Murderer" and "Lunar Killer".

Navigating a Transformed World

Ahead of our conversation, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his release he has had to adapt to a completely different world.

When he was detained, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, the concept of the internet and Europe was still divided by the Iron Curtain.

He described watching the fall of the Berlin Wall from a public television in prison.

Mr Sullivan explained how trips to the shops now show how "everything's changed" - from trying to work out how self-checkouts function to realising that "in place of having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Digital Surprises

His imprisonment means he has been unaware of the way so many elements of everyday life have changed - comparable to someone who has been unconscious since the 1980s.

"After spending so long in prison and finding out there's no DHSS [Department of Health and Social Security, now the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)] where you can pick up your money - you're thinking, 'Amazing, what's going on here?'"

He now has a smartphone, after learning doctor's appointments need to be booked on something he now knows is called an 'mobile program'.

He first became familiar with them when he was sitting on a bus shortly after his release and saw people operating smartphones. He only recognized they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Psychological Impact

Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in confinement have also led to an unavoidable sense of prison conditioning.

He described how after his freedom, one morning in his flat he returned to his bedroom and positioned himself on his bed, because he was unconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and secure him into his cell.

"It's required to be at your door at a specific hour, otherwise the officers will yell at you", he said.

"I remained thinking, 'What am I doing?'"

Seeking Answers

But Mr Sullivan's optimism is mixed with a yearning for answers about how he ended up being charged with an high-profile murder that he was innocent of, and a bewilderment about why he still has not had an expression of regret.

"I've lost everything", he said.

"I lost all my freedom, I lost my mother since I've been in prison, I've lost my father.

"It pains me because I wasn't there for them", he said.

"I cannot proceed with my life if I can't get an answer off them."

"The sole thing I need, an apology [and to understand] the reason why they've done this to me", he said.

Police Statement

Merseyside Police said "minimal advantage to be gained for a reassessment of this matter today" because of "the changes to investigative techniques and progress in the law over the last 40 years".

The force did refer some of Mr Sullivan's accusations to the police oversight body, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now examine his claims that officers beat him up and warned to link him to other crimes if he failed to confess to Diane Sindall's murder.

When asked if it would express regret, the force did not directly answer the question, but as part of a detailed response it said: "The force acknowledges that there has been a serious failure of justice in this case".

Moving Forward

Mr Sullivan explained about his simple goal - an ambition that he said he had abandoned expectation of being able to realise at some points over his approximately 38 years behind bars.

"The sole objective to do now is get on with my own life and progress as I was before, and enjoy my remaining years now".

His prospects may be made easier by government monetary award, paid to individuals affected of judicial errors.

This scheme is restricted at £1.3m, a maximum which it is believed his eventual payout will get very approach.

But the process is not automatic, and it is lengthy.

Andrew Malkinson, whose guilty verdict for a rape he had no involvement in was quashed in 2023, was only given an temporary payment earlier this year.

Admitted offenders who admit to their crimes and are paroled get a accommodation and some support regarding living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an wrongly convicted individual, is not qualified for that help.

And so he is existing a simple existence, with his basic aspirations - although many believe he is a millionaire in waiting.

His lawyer, Sarah Myatt, said "no sum that you could say that would be sufficient for forfeiting 38 years of your life".