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For someone who's lost almost 40 years of his life as a result of a crime he didn't commit, Peter Sullivan strikes a surprisingly optimistic outlook.

During our encounter last month, for what was his first interview since being released from prison in May, he was cheerful and excited about getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the initial occasion since he was arrested in 1986.

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

When he was sentenced the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was destined to a lifetime in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be persecuted by his tabloid nicknames "The Beast of Birkenhead", "The Mersey Ripper" and "Nocturnal Predator".

Adapting to a Transformed World

Before our interview, he was full of stories about how since his freedom he has had to acclimate to a radically changed world.

When he was detained, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, few knew about the internet and Europe was still partitioned by the Iron Curtain.

He described watching the demolition of the Berlin Wall from a communal television in prison.

Mr Sullivan told me how trips to the shops now show how "society has evolved" - 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".

Modern Adjustments

His confinement means he has been ignorant of the way so many facets of everyday life have transformed - comparable to someone who has been asleep 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, '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 'application'.

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

Mental Impact

Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in custody have also led to an predictable sense of institutionalisation.

He described how after his release, 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.

"You've got to be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will yell at you", he said.

"I remained thinking, 'What's happening?'"

Seeking Explanation

But Mr Sullivan's hope is tempered by a longing for answers about how he was charged with an high-profile murder that he was innocent of, and a bewilderment 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.

"The pain is deep 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."

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

Authorities Response

Merseyside Police said "there would be little benefit to be gained for a reassessment of this matter today" because of "developments to investigative techniques and improvements in the law over the last 40 years".

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

When asked if it would issue an apology, the force did not directly answer the question, but as part of a lengthy statement it said: "The force regrets that there has been a significant injustice of justice in this case".

Looking Ahead

Mr Sullivan told me about his basic aspiration - an ambition that he said he had given up of being able to realise at some points over his approximately 38 years behind bars.

"My only desire to do now is get on with my own life and move forward as I was before, and experience freedom now".

His prospects may be made more manageable by government monetary award, paid to wrongly convicted people of judicial errors.

This scheme is limited at £1.3m, a limit which it is believed his resulting award will get very approach.

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

Andrew Malkinson, whose guilty verdict for a rape he did not commit was dismissed in 2023, was only given an temporary payment earlier this year.

Convicted criminals who confess to their crimes and are paroled get a housing and some assistance for living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an innocent man, is not entitled to that help.

And so he is existing a modest life, with his modest ambitions - although many consider he is a compensation recipient.

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