Khaberni - The British continue to debate the man who spent 38 years in prison before his innocence was proven. In the latest developments in the case, the man reported that the police "deceived and beat him" to force him to confess to a crime he did not commit, which led to him losing years of his life behind bars.
According to a report published by the British "Daily Telegraph" and reviewed by "Alarabiya.net," the case of Peter Sullivan, who was recently released at the age of 68, is considered "the worst case of justice misuse in British history."
Sullivan, who was wrongly imprisoned for 38 years, stated: "The police deceived me until I confessed." He claimed that British police officers physically assaulted him to force him to confess to a murder he did not commit.
According to "The Telegraph," Sullivan's only current demand is an apology from the British police for the mistake they made, which led to him spending about four decades in prison.
Peter Sullivan (aged 68) was released earlier this year after spending 38 years in prison on charges of murdering a girl named Diane Sindall.
Crucial DNA evidence, revealed thanks to scientific advances, proved that another unidentified man was the one who sexually assaulted the 21-year-old girl and killed her on her way back from work to her home in Merseyside in 1986.
Sullivan is now seeking compensation and an apology from Merseyside police for wrongly imprisoning him for nearly four decades.
In his first statement since his release, he said: "I can't forgive them for what they did to me because it will stay with me for the rest of my life. I have to bear this burden until I get an apology for what happened from everyone involved in the case."
He added: "All I want is an apology to clarify why they did this to me, from Merseyside police and from everyone. I completely lost my freedom, I lost my mother since entering prison, and I lost my father, and this hurts me because I was not by their side."
Sullivan claimed that he was beaten by police officers in his cell, where "they flogged him" to get a confession for the crime. He said: "They threw a blanket on me, and they were hitting me with batons above it in an attempt to force me to cooperate with them."
On August 1st, 1986, the girl Sindall was beaten to death after being sexually assaulted in an alleyway, where she was walking after her car ran out of gas.
Sullivan was later arrested and charged, and was nicknamed "the Birkenhead Monster" or "the Wolfman" due to bite marks found on the victim’s body. He said: "These nicknames will remain in my mind as I was never like them."
Sullivan claimed that the police threatened him that if he did not confess to this crime, he would be charged with "35 other rape crimes," and said he was deprived of food and sleep. Sullivan's confession was recorded without a lawyer present, which he later retracted. He said he initially confessed to something he did not do because "the bullying forced me to give up, as I could no longer endure."
During his time in prison, Sullivan was prevented from attending his mother’s funeral because she was buried in the same cemetery as the victim, Sindall. However, he said she was a source of inspiration for him to ensure he never gave up. He added: "Before her death, my mother turned to me and said: I want you to continue to fight this case because you did nothing wrong."
Sullivan first brought his case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission – the body formed to look into the possibility of judicial errors – in 2008, but his request was denied. He submitted another request in 2021 after new forensic tests revealed DNA from an unknown man at the crime scene.
In a hearing last May, Sullivan appeared crying after his conviction was officially overturned. He said he felt sorry for the Sindall family, and offered "to stand by them" if they wanted.
He added: "I truly feel sorry for them and what they are going through right now, as they are back to the starting point and do not know who the person who killed their daughter is."
