Freedom after 38 years in prison: Who is Peter Sullivan?

Peter Sullivan has been officially recognized as the victim of the longest-running miscarriage of justice involving a living inmate in the United Kingdom.

The 68-year-old wept as he watched the Court of Appeal proceedings via video link from Wakefield Prison on Tuesday. The court ruled that Sullivan was not responsible for the 1986 murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall, citing new DNA evidence that cleared him of the crime.

Sindall was attacked, sexually assaulted, and beaten to death while walking home from work in Bebington, near Liverpool—a crime that shocked the local community.

Sullivan said, in a statement read outside the court by his lawyer, that despite spending years in jail he was “not angry” or “bitter”.

Sullivan was arrested a month later and convicted in 1987 at the age of 30. His previous appeals were unsuccessful.

In 2021, Sullivan submitted his case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), raising concerns over police interview practices, the reliability of bite-mark evidence presented during his trial, and the alleged murder weapon.

The CCRC obtained forensic samples from the original investigation and discovered that the DNA profile did not match Sullivan’s.

Following this breakthrough, the case was referred to the Court of Appeal, which overturned his conviction and ordered his immediate release—bringing an end to nearly four decades of wrongful imprisonment.

Sullivan said, in a statement read outside the court by his lawyer, that despite spending years in jail he was “not angry” or “bitter”.