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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 surprisingly hopeful outlook.

When I met him last month, for what was his debriefing session since being liberated from prison in May, he was upbeat and eagerly anticipating getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the opening match since he was arrested in 1986.

That was the year of the violent killing of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an event he said he was merely aware of because someone spoke to him in a pub at the time and said, "allegedly there's been a murder".

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

Navigating a Transformed World

Before our interview, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his exoneration he has had to adapt to a completely different 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 explained watching the fall 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 work out how self-checkouts operate to realising that "instead of having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Modern Challenges

His confinement means he has been unaware of the way so many elements of everyday life have transformed - comparable to someone who has been asleep 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 collect your money - you're thinking, 'Amazing, what's going on here?'"

He now has a digital phone, after finding out doctor's appointments need to be arranged 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 understood they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Psychological 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 returned to his bedroom and sat down 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 discipline you", he said.

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

Desiring Closure

But Mr Sullivan's hope is balanced by a longing for answers about how he ended up being charged with an high-profile murder that he was innocent of, and a confusion about why he still has not had an apology.

"I've lost everything", he said.

"Freedom disappeared, I lost my mother since I've been in prison, I've lost my father.

"It hurts because I couldn't be present for them", he said.

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

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

Law Enforcement Position

Merseyside Police said "limited value to be gained for a review of this matter today" because of "advancements to investigative techniques and improvements 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 look at his claims that officers physically abused him and warned to link him to other crimes if he failed to confess to Diane Sindall's murder.

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

Future Prospects

Mr Sullivan shared about his simple goal - an ambition that he said he had abandoned expectation of being able to realise at some points over his nearly four decades behind bars.

"All I want to do now is proceed with my own life and move forward as I was before, and enjoy my remaining years now".

His prospects may be made more manageable by government compensation, paid to wrongly convicted people of wrongful convictions.

This system is limited at £1.3m, a maximum which it is estimated his final compensation will get very close to.

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

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

Admitted offenders who confess to their crimes and are released get a housing and some help with living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an innocent man, is not qualified for that help.

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

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