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For someone who's lost nearly 40 years of his life due to a crime he was innocent of, Peter Sullivan maintains a surprisingly positive attitude.

During our encounter last month, for what was his debriefing session since being liberated from prison in May, he was enthusiastic and eagerly anticipating getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the first time since he was detained in 1986.

That was the year of the violent killing of Diane Sindall in his birthplace of Birkenhead - an incident he said he was merely aware of because someone spoke to 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 destined to a indefinite period in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be persecuted by his tabloid nicknames "Birkenhead's Monster", "Merseyside Killer" and "Lunar Killer".

Navigating a Transformed World

Prior to our discussion, he was abundant with tales about how since his exoneration he has had to adjust to a fundamentally altered 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 demolition of the Berlin Wall from a public television in prison.

Mr Sullivan told me how trips to the shops now show how "society has evolved" - from trying to figure out how self-checkouts operate to realising that "rather than having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Modern Surprises

His incarceration means he has been ignorant of the way so many facets of everyday life have changed - similar to someone who has been unconscious since the 1980s.

"Following so long in prison and learning 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, 'Wow, what's going on here?'"

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

He first became acquainted with them when he was sitting on a bus shortly after his release and saw people using smartphones. He only realised 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 inevitable sense of prison conditioning.

He recalled how after his release, one morning in his flat he walked back to his bedroom and positioned himself on his bed, because he was automatically waiting for a prison officer to come and lock him back into his cell.

"It's required to be at your door at a designated moment, otherwise the officers will go off at you", he said.

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

Demanding Answers

But Mr Sullivan's hope is mixed with a longing for answers about how he was charged with an infamous murder that he had no part in, and a confusion about why he still has not had an apology.

"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 couldn't be present for them", he said.

"I can't carry on with my life if I can't get an answer off them."

"That's all I want, an apology [and to understand] the cause behind they've done this to me", he said.

Law Enforcement Response

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

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

When asked if it would apologise, the force did not specifically respond the question, but as part of a comprehensive declaration it said: "The force recognizes that there has been a serious failure of justice in this case".

Looking Ahead

Mr Sullivan shared about his modest ambition - an ambition that he said he had given up of being able to realise at some points over his almost forty years behind bars.

"My only desire to do now is proceed with my own life and move forward as I was before, and live my time out now".

His life ahead may be made easier by government monetary award, paid to victims of judicial errors.

This program is capped at £1.3m, a cap which it is thought his resulting award will get very approach.

But the process is not immediate, and it is time-consuming.

Andrew Malkinson, whose sentence for a rape he was innocent of was dismissed in 2023, was only awarded an interim compensation payout earlier this year.

Guilty prisoners who acknowledge their crimes and are freed get a housing and some help with living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an wrongly convicted individual, is not eligible for that help.

And so he is living a basic lifestyle, with his basic aspirations - although many think he is a future wealthy man.

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