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Considering he who's sacrificed almost 40 years of his life because of a crime he didn't commit, Peter Sullivan projects a remarkably positive tone.

During our encounter last month, for what was his initial media appearance since being freed from prison in May, he was upbeat and excited about getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the first time since he was arrested in 1986.

That was the year of the brutal homicide of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an occurrence he said he had limited information regarding because someone approached him in a pub at the time and said, "apparently there's been a murder".

When he was convicted the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was condemned to a extended term in some of Britain's toughest category A prisons where he would be tormented by his tabloid nicknames "The Wirral Predator", "Merseyside Killer" and "Nocturnal Predator".

Navigating a Modern World

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

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

He explained watching the collapse of the Berlin Wall from a communal television in prison.

Mr Sullivan explained how trips to the shops now show how "society has evolved" - from trying to figure out how self-checkouts function to realising that "in place of 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 aspects of everyday life have evolved - similar to someone who has been asleep since the 1980s.

"After spending so long in prison and discovering there's no DHSS [Department of Health and Social Security, now the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)] where you can collect 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 scheduled 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 liberation and saw people twiddling with smartphones. He only recognized they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Mental Consequences

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

He remembered how after his liberation, one morning in his flat he returned to his bedroom and positioned himself on his bed, because he was subconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and confine him into his cell.

"You must be at your door at a designated moment, otherwise the officers will discipline you", he said.

"I was just sitting there thinking, 'Why am I here?'"

Desiring Explanation

But Mr Sullivan's optimism is mixed with a desire 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 expression of regret.

"My entire life vanished", he said.

"Freedom disappeared, 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 explanation off them."

"My only request, an apology [and to understand] the reason why they've done this to me", he said.

Law Enforcement Statement

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

The force did submit some of Mr Sullivan's claims to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now investigate his claims that officers assaulted him and warned to link him to other crimes if he didn't plead guilty to Diane Sindall's murder.

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

Looking Ahead

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

"My only desire to do now is continue with my own life and carry on as I was before, and enjoy my remaining years now".

His future may be made more manageable by government financial payment, paid to victims of judicial errors.

This scheme is limited at £1.3m, a cap which it is thought his eventual payout will get very approach.

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

Andrew Malkinson, whose conviction for a rape he had no involvement in was overturned in 2023, was only awarded an provisional award earlier this year.

Admitted offenders who acknowledge their crimes and are freed get a housing and some assistance for living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an wrongly convicted individual, is not qualified for that help.

And so he is surviving a modest life, with his modest ambitions - although many consider he is a millionaire in waiting.

His lawyer, Sarah Myatt, said "there's not a figure that you could say that would be adequate for losing 38 years of your life".