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Peter Sullivan who has spent 38 years in jail for murder has conviction quashed
Peter Sullivan who has spent 38 years in jail for murder has conviction quashed
Mr Sullivan was convicted of murdering Diane Sindall in Birkenhead in August 1986 but a review found his DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
A man jailed for murder nearly 40 years ago has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal, ending what's thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history.
Peter Sullivan was convicted of murdering Diane Sindall in Birkenhead in August 1986. The 21-year-old florist had been beaten and raped and left in an alleyway.
Mr Sullivan, 68, had always maintained his innocence and new tests, ordered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, revealed his DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
"He has always been trying and working towards a breakthrough. That DNA evidence was that moment for him," said his solicitor Sarah Myatt.
"When he was told about the new evidence, he was ecstatic."
https://news.sky.com/story/peter-sullivan-who-has-spent-38-years-in-jail-for-murder-has-conviction-quashed-13363928
Mr Sullivan was convicted of murdering Diane Sindall in Birkenhead in August 1986 but a review found his DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
A man jailed for murder nearly 40 years ago has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal, ending what's thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history.
Peter Sullivan was convicted of murdering Diane Sindall in Birkenhead in August 1986. The 21-year-old florist had been beaten and raped and left in an alleyway.
Mr Sullivan, 68, had always maintained his innocence and new tests, ordered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, revealed his DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
"He has always been trying and working towards a breakthrough. That DNA evidence was that moment for him," said his solicitor Sarah Myatt.
"When he was told about the new evidence, he was ecstatic."
https://news.sky.com/story/peter-sullivan-who-has-spent-38-years-in-jail-for-murder-has-conviction-quashed-13363928
Comments
38 years, wow. I wonder what sort of compo he'll get? He's lost almost his entire life.
@Enut
Yes, Amen to all that.
He deserves to be able to spend his remaining years in absolute luxury.
He does not appear to be at all bitter about it either.
"I am not angry, I am not bitter.
"I am simply anxious to return to my loved ones and family as I've got to make the most of what is left of the existence I am granted in this world."
I don't think I would have been so eloquent or concise. He and his family also expressed their concern for Diane Sindall's family, after all her killer either got away with it or is still out there.
@Enut
Wow. What an incredible man, & I agree, hard to imagine anyone could have been more eloquent. When we rub shoulders all the time with "entitled" poker players, it does - or should - really make one think.
There are some extraordinary people around.
But doing all that time knowing that you really innocent, would surely do your head in.
Not only that, knowing that proof was available to prove that you were innocent, could only make things worse.
Unfortunately there are a number of cases where the police have been able to manipulate those with learning difficulties.
He doesnt sound much like a man that would have signed a confession, yet he did.
They ruled in 2008 that it was not possible to retest the dna.
Yet it obviously was, which is why we ended up where we are today.
So was this due to advances in technology, or someone that was more determined becoming involved?
MailOnline reports Mr Sullivan is in line for the maximum level of compensation from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), with payouts currently capped at £1million for 10 or more years imprisonment.
In the circumstances, £1 million does not sound much, but I guess compared to what he's endured for 38 years, he'll be able to live in relative luxury.
The Court of Appeal ruling ends what's thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history.
Mr Sullivan - who was jailed in 1987 - had always maintained his innocence and first tried to challenge his conviction in 2016, but the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) declined to refer the case, and he lost his own appeal bid in 2019.
Two years later, he again asked the CCRC to refer his case and new tests, ordered by the commission, revealed Mr Sullivan's DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.
https://news.sky.com/story/peter-sullivan-who-has-spent-38-years-in-jail-for-murder-has-conviction-quashed-13363928
I wonder if his family can sue for their stress? I'm sure they have also suffered greatly due to his wrongful conviction.
Lots of things don't look right in this case. Do they ever get reviewed? Not just the conviction but also the appeals process and those involved that kept an innocent man in prison for decades.
I am pro death sentence for murder but only now, when modern DNA testing and forensics would have meant he was not convicted in the first place.
A man who spent 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of rape is still waiting for compensation three years after his release.
Andrew Malkinson, 58, had his conviction for the 2003 sex attack near Bolton quashed last year.
Emily Bolton, the lawyer who represented him during his criminal appeal, said he feels "the state is trying to break him".
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it was trying to make a decision on compensation "as quickly as possible".
'Still struggling'
Mr Malkinson's conviction was overturned in July after the Court of Appeal heard allegations of major failures in the handling of the case against him.
Ms Bolton told the Today Programme that he is "absolutely still struggling" and frustrated over demands for information he must provide to the Department of Work and Pensions in order to receive benefits.
She said: "It's about being mistrusted. What more does Andy have to prove?"
Mr Malkinson was previously living in a tent
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce31eeg4wl5o#:~:text=A man who spent 17 years in prison,2003 sex attack near Bolton quashed last year.
@rabdeniro
Correct.
It's binary, either yes or no. How long can that take? One half suspects they are procrastinating until he dies, then the problem goes away.
The first point to make is that any case of this sort involves what Lawyers will call "liability" and "quantum". Or, as I prefer to say, if and how much.
It is not as simple as wrongful conviction automatically entitling someone to money. Let me give a simple example.
X is convicted and imprisoned for a Rape in London. The DNA evidence that exonerates him is that it can now be proved that at that time he was raping someone in Birmingham. In that example, who wants to give that person your money?
The next point to make is the role of his Solicitor. He will have spent many £thousands on this case already. And that money has usually either been borrowed from a Bank or from Legal Expenses Insurers. And the pressure on the Law Firm drops once liability is admitted.
The change I would like to see is this.
1. A much faster check to ensure that Liability should not be an issue. That bit should not take 31 weeks.
2. Once that check has been passed, the wrongly convicted person should be entitled to a substantial interim payment. Allowing him to live comfortably while the matter is settled. And the Lawyers only get paid at that later stage.
That's all fair comment @Essexphil
Nothing is ever quite as simple as it seems, is it?