Considering he who's sacrificed almost 40 years of his life due to a crime he was innocent of, Peter Sullivan projects a remarkably hopeful outlook.
In our conversation last month, for what was his initial media appearance since being freed from prison in May, he was cheerful and excited about getting to Anfield to watch Liverpool play for the initial occasion since he was arrested in 1986.
That was the year of the violent killing of Diane Sindall in his birthplace of Birkenhead - an incident he said he only knew about because someone approached 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 indefinite period in some of Britain's highest-security category A prisons where he would be tormented by his tabloid nicknames "The Wirral Predator", "Merseyside Killer" 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 arrested, Margaret Thatcher was in Downing Street, no one had heard 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 "the world has transformed" - from trying to understand how self-checkouts work to realising that "rather than having a cheque book, you've got it on your phone".
Digital Challenges
His imprisonment means he has been ignorant of the way so many aspects of everyday life have evolved - similar to someone who has been unconscious since the 1980s.
"After spending so long in prison and learning there's no DHSS [Department of Health and Social Security, now the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)] where you can pick up 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 arranged on something he now knows is called an 'application'.
He first became acquainted with them when he was sitting on a bus shortly after his freedom and saw people using smartphones. He only recognized they were phones when he saw someone put one to their ear.
Emotional Impact
Mr Sullivan's 14,000 days in custody have also led to an predictable sense of prison conditioning.
He described how after his liberation, one morning in his flat he went back to his bedroom and sat down on his bed, because he was unconsciously waiting for a prison officer to come and lock him back into his cell.
"You've got to be at your door at a certain time, otherwise the officers will yell at you", he said.
"I remained thinking, 'What am I doing?'"
Seeking Answers
But Mr Sullivan's optimism is tempered by a longing for answers about how he came to be charged with an notorious murder that he didn't commit, and a perplexity about why he still has not had an apology.
"My entire life vanished", he said.
"My liberty was taken, I lost my mother since I've been in prison, I've lost my father.
"It hurts because I was absent for them", he said.
"I cannot proceed with my life if I can't get an answer off them."
"That's all I want, an apology [and to understand] the cause behind they've done this to me", he said.
Law Enforcement Position
Merseyside Police said "minimal advantage to be gained for a review of this matter today" because of "the changes to investigative techniques and developments in the law over the last 40 years".
The force did refer some of Mr Sullivan's allegations to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who will now look at his claims that officers assaulted him and intimidated to link him to other crimes if he failed to confess to Diane Sindall's murder.
When asked if it would issue an apology, the force did not clearly address the question, but as part of a comprehensive declaration it said: "The force recognizes that there has been a significant injustice of justice in this case".
Future Prospects
Mr Sullivan explained about his basic aspiration - an ambition that he said he had abandoned expectation of being able to achieve at some points over his nearly four decades behind bars.
"All I want to do now is proceed with my own life and carry on as I was before, and enjoy my remaining years now".
His prospects may be made more manageable by government monetary award, paid to victims of judicial errors.
This system is limited at £1.3m, a cap which it is believed his eventual payout will get very approach.
But the procedure is not automatic, and it is lengthy.
Andrew Malkinson, whose conviction for a rape he did not commit was quashed in 2023, was only awarded an temporary payment earlier this year.
Convicted criminals who acknowledge their crimes and are released get a housing and some support regarding living expenses. Mr Sullivan, as an innocent man, is not qualified for that help.
And so he is existing a basic lifestyle, with his basic aspirations - although many believe he is a compensation recipient.
His lawyer, Sarah Myatt, said "there's not a figure that you could say that would be enough for losing 38 years of your life".
