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For someone who's sacrificed almost 40 years of his life as a result of a crime he didn't commit, Peter Sullivan maintains a remarkably positive attitude.

During our encounter last month, for what was his first interview since being freed from prison in May, he was cheerful and looking forward to getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the opening match since he was taken into custody in 1986.

That was the year of the sexual attack murder of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an occurrence he said he was merely aware of because someone spoke to 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 toughest category A prisons where he would be hounded by his tabloid nicknames "The Beast of Birkenhead", "Merseyside Killer" and "The Wolfman".

Navigating a Digital World

Ahead of our conversation, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his release he has had to acclimate to a fundamentally altered world.

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

He explained watching the fall of the Berlin Wall from a shared television in prison.

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

Digital Surprises

His incarceration means he has been ignorant of the way so many facets of everyday life have evolved - similar to someone who has been in hibernation since the 1980s.

"Following 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 receive your money - you're thinking, 'Amazing, what's going on here?'"

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

He first became acquainted with them when he was sitting on a bus shortly after his release and saw people operating smartphones. He only realised they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.

Mental Impact

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

He recalled how after his liberation, one morning in his flat he returned to his bedroom and settled on his bed, because he was unconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and secure him into his cell.

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

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

Demanding Explanation

But Mr Sullivan's hope is mixed with a yearning for answers about how he ended up being charged with an notorious murder that he had no part in, and a confusion about why he still has not had an apology.

"Everything is gone", he said.

"My liberty was taken, 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 cannot proceed with my life if I can't get an explanation off them."

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

Police Position

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

The force did submit some of Mr Sullivan's allegations to the police oversight body, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now investigate his claims that officers assaulted him and intimidated to link him to other crimes if he refused to admit to Diane Sindall's murder.

When asked if it would express regret, the force did not directly answer 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 shared about his simple goal - an ambition that he said he had given up of being able to achieve at some points over his approximately 38 years behind bars.

"My only desire to do now is get on with my own life and carry on as I was before, and live my time out now".

His prospects may be made more manageable by government compensation, paid to individuals affected of judicial errors.

This program is restricted at £1.3m, a maximum which it is thought his final compensation will get very approach.

But the system is not automatic, and it is lengthy.

Andrew Malkinson, whose sentence for a rape he had no involvement in was quashed in 2023, was only given an interim compensation payout earlier this year.

Guilty prisoners who admit to their crimes and are freed get a housing and some assistance for living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an innocent man, is not eligible for that help.

And so he is surviving a simple existence, with his basic aspirations - although many think he is a future wealthy man.

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