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Considering he who's lost approximately 40 years of his life because of a crime he didn't commit, Peter Sullivan strikes a remarkably positive attitude.

During our encounter last month, for what was his first interview since being freed from prison in May, he was upbeat and looking forward to getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the initial occasion since he was detained in 1986.

That was the year of the sexual attack murder of Diane Sindall in his home town of Birkenhead - an incident 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 sentenced the following year at Liverpool Crown Court - he was sentenced to a lifetime in some of Britain's most secure category A prisons where he would be persecuted by his tabloid nicknames "The Beast of Birkenhead", "River Mersey Murderer" and "The Wolfman".

Adjusting to a Modern World

Prior to our discussion, he was rich with anecdotes about how since his release he has had to adapt to a fundamentally altered world.

When he was taken into custody, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, no one had heard of the internet and Europe was still partitioned by the Iron Curtain.

He explained watching the fall of the Berlin Wall from a shared 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 work to realising that "rather than having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".

Modern Surprises

His imprisonment means he has been ignorant of the way so many facets of everyday life have changed - 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 learning doctor's appointments need to be scheduled on something he now knows is called an 'application'.

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

Psychological Effects

Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in custody have also led to an predictable sense of prison conditioning.

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

"You've got to be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will discipline you", he said.

"I found myself thinking, 'Why am I here?'"

Desiring Explanation

But Mr Sullivan's positivity is tempered by a yearning 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.

"My entire life vanished", he said.

"I lost all my freedom, I lost my mother since I've been in prison, I've lost my father.

"It pains me because I was absent for them", he said.

"I can't carry on with my life if I can't get an answer off them."

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

Police Position

Merseyside Police said "minimal advantage to be gained for a reassessment 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 accusations to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now look at 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 directly answer the question, but as part of a comprehensive declaration it said: "The force acknowledges that there has been a serious failure of justice in this case".

Looking Ahead

Mr Sullivan shared about his modest ambition - an ambition that he said he had given up 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 experience freedom now".

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

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

But the procedure is not immediate, and it is lengthy.

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

Admitted offenders who admit to their crimes and are released get a accommodation and some support regarding living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an exonerated person, is not eligible for that help.

And so he is existing a basic lifestyle, 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 enough for forfeiting 38 years of your life".