A man was wrongly imprisoned for 38 years for a crime he did not commit.
In 1986, Diane Sidall, aged 21, was tragically raped and murdered. The incident took place as Sidall was walking through Birkenhead, UK, during the early morning hours of August 2.
A year later, Peter Sullivan was accused of her murder and sentenced to a minimum of 16 years before being eligible for parole. At the time, he was only 30 years old.
Throughout his time in prison, Sullivan consistently proclaimed his innocence, working alongside his lawyer, Sarah Myatt, for over two decades in an effort to vindicate himself.
Despite the many years he spent incarcerated, Sullivan and Myatt never lost hope. Breakthroughs in scientific technology led to the discovery last year of critical DNA evidence pointing to another, unidentified man.
In May 2025, the decision to release Sullivan was made public.
During an interview with the BBC, Sullivan described the life-changing moment when he learned of his impending release. He listened to the appeal decision via video-link from HMP Wakefield.
“When they came back in with the verdict that my case had been quashed, [the probation officer] burst into tears first,” he recounted. “She turned around and said, ‘Peter, you’re going home’.”
Sullivan continued: “Next minute, bang, all the tears started running down my face and that was it, I went, ‘yes, justice has been done’.”
Reflecting on his release, Sullivan mentioned: “I was watching the cars go by, and I’ve never seen so many different cars in my life on that road. It was daunting just seeing them all changed and everything.”
He is now seeking an apology for his wrongful conviction.
“I can’t forgive them for what they’ve done to me because it’s going to be there with me for the rest of my life,” said the 68-year-old. “I’ve got to carry that burden until I can get an apology on what happened from everyone else who’s been involved with the case.”
He added: “That’s all I want is an apology with the reason why they done this to me … from Merseyside police and everyone else – I lost all my freedom, I lost my mother, since I was put in prison, I’ve lost my father, and it hurts because I wasn’t there for them.”
Sullivan’s parents both passed away during his imprisonment. He also claimed he was denied permission to attend his mother’s funeral in 2013 because she was buried at the same cemetery as Sidall.
Merseyside Police, in a statement to the BBC, expressed ‘regret’ over the ‘grave miscarriage of justice,’ but asserted that their officers had adhered to the legal standards of the time.