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Considering he who's lost approximately 40 years of his life as a result of a crime he was innocent of, Peter Sullivan strikes a remarkably optimistic outlook.

In our conversation last month, for what was his first interview since being liberated from prison in May, he was cheerful and looking forward to getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the first time since he was arrested in 1986.

That was the year of the sexual attack murder of Diane Sindall in his local community of Birkenhead - an event he said he only knew about because someone approached him in a pub at the time and said, "allegedly 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 most secure category A prisons where he would be tormented by his tabloid nicknames "The Beast of Birkenhead", "The Mersey Ripper" and "Lunar Killer".

Navigating a Digital World

Prior to our discussion, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his release he has had to acclimate to a completely different world.

When he was taken into custody, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, no one had heard of the internet and Europe was still separated 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 "the world has transformed" - from trying to work out how self-checkouts function to realising that "instead of having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Digital Challenges

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

"Having endured 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 receive your money - you're thinking, 'Wow, what's going on here?'"

He now has a mobile device, after learning doctor's appointments need to be scheduled on something he now knows is called an 'app'.

He first became familiar with them when he was riding on a bus shortly after his freedom and saw people twiddling with smartphones. He only understood they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Mental Effects

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

He described how after his freedom, one morning in his flat he went back to his bedroom and sat down on his bed, because he was unconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and confine him into his cell.

"It's required to be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will yell at you", he said.

"I remained thinking, 'Why am I here?'"

Demanding Closure

But Mr Sullivan's positivity is tempered by a desire for answers about how he was charged with an high-profile murder that he had no part in, and a perplexity about why he still has not had an apology.

"Everything is gone", he said.

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

"It hurts because I wasn't there for them", he said.

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

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

Authorities Response

Merseyside Police said "limited value 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 claims to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now investigate his claims that officers beat him up and intimidated to link him to other crimes if he failed to confess to Diane Sindall's murder.

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

Future Prospects

Mr Sullivan told me about his modest ambition - an ambition that he said he had lost hope of being able to realise at some points over his nearly four decades behind bars.

"The sole objective to do now is get on with my own life and move forward as I was before, and live my time out now".

His future may be made more manageable by government monetary award, paid to individuals affected of miscarriages of justice.

This system is limited at £1.3m, a limit which it is believed his eventual payout will get very near.

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

Andrew Malkinson, whose conviction for a rape he was innocent of was overturned in 2023, was only granted an provisional award earlier this year.

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

And so he is living a basic lifestyle, with his basic aspirations - although many think he is a millionaire in waiting.

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