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For someone who's forfeited almost 40 years of his life because of a crime he was innocent of, Peter Sullivan projects a surprisingly optimistic attitude.

In our conversation last month, for what was his debriefing session since being freed from prison in May, he was upbeat and looking forward to getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the first time since he was detained in 1986.

That was the year of the brutal homicide of Diane Sindall in his birthplace 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 found guilty 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 tormented by his tabloid nicknames "The Wirral Predator", "River Mersey Murderer" and "Lunar Killer".

Adapting to a Modern World

Before our interview, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his release he has had to adapt to a radically changed world.

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

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

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

Digital Challenges

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

"Following 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 pick up your money - you're thinking, 'Goodness, what's going on here?'"

He now has a digital phone, 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 liberation and saw people twiddling with smartphones. He only understood 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 inevitable sense of institutionalisation.

He remembered how after his release, one morning in his flat he walked back to his bedroom and settled on his bed, because he was subconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and secure him into his cell.

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

"I found myself thinking, 'What's happening?'"

Seeking Answers

But Mr Sullivan's positivity is mixed with a yearning for answers about how he ended up being charged with an infamous murder that he didn't commit, and a confusion about why he still has not had an admission of error.

"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.

"It's impossible to continue with my life if I can't get an answer off them."

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

Law Enforcement Position

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 forward some of Mr Sullivan's accusations to the police watchdog, 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 clearly address the question, but as part of a comprehensive declaration it said: "The force recognizes that there has been a significant injustice of justice in this case".

Looking Ahead

Mr Sullivan explained about his basic aspiration - an ambition that he said he had abandoned expectation of being able to accomplish at some points over his nearly four decades behind bars.

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

His prospects may be made less challenging by government compensation, paid to victims of judicial errors.

This scheme is capped at £1.3m, a cap which it is thought his final compensation will get very close to.

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

Andrew Malkinson, whose guilty verdict for a rape he did not commit was overturned in 2023, was only given an interim compensation payout earlier this year.

Admitted offenders who acknowledge their crimes and are released get a place to live and some help with living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an exonerated person, is not qualified for that help.

And so he is living a simple existence, with his humble goals - although many believe he is a millionaire in waiting.

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