A British man who turned 38 years in prison for murder had his condemnation revoked on Tuesday after forensic evidence of the crime scene was tested and it was discovered that he did not coincide with his DNA.
The man, Peter Sullivan, 68, must be a victim of spontaneous abortion of the longest justice in the country that involves a living prisoner. The trial continues the emergence of several other unfair sentences in recent years, throwing a shadow on the reputation of the Great Britain Criminal Justice System and raising serious questions about the credibility of the appeal process.
Mr. Sullivan was imprisoned after the murder in August 1986 or Diane Sindall, 21, who suffered a frantic sexual attack in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, while heading home from a pub where he also worked.
After DNA tests were filed in the case, the Court of Appeals revoked Mr. Sullivan’s conviction.
“In the light of that evidence, it is impossible to consider the conviction of the appellant as safe,” said Timothy Holroyde, one of the three judges who preside over the audience. “We cancel the condemnation,” he added, ordering Mr. Sullivan to be released from custody.
Appearing through a video link from the prison in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Mr. Sullivan broke down in the tears and held his hand on his mouth as he would be released, BBC reported.
In a declaration read by his lawyer, Sarah Myatt, in his name after the ruling, Mr. Sullivan said: “What happened to me was very bad, but there is no value to add:” I am not angry; I’m not bitter. I am simply anxious to return to my beloved and the family, since I have to make the most of what remains of the existence they grant me in this world. “
The illicit imprisonment of Mr. Sullivan will intensify the debate on the reliability of the Review Commission of Criminal Cases of Great Britain, which is responsible for investigating possible spontaneous abortions of justice.
In 2023, Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison for a violation he did not commit, was released after years of protesting his innocence.
James Burley, who directed the investigation into the case of Mr. Malkinson for a charity, said in a statement on Tuesday: “Peter Sullivan exoneration today after almost four decades of unfair imprisonment provides more evidence that our current appeals will be quickly trusted.
Mrs. Sindall, who was a florist and was committed to marry, was attacked as she walked to a service station in Babington, Merseyside, after her truck broke just after midnight.
Twelve hours later, a public member discovered Mrs. Sindall’s body in a alley. She had been sexomally assaulted and suffered extensive wounds. The cause of death was established as a cerebral hemorrhage after multiple blows.
The search for his murderer caught the attention at the national level and, due to the brutality of the assault, the rookies of the tabloids referred to Mr. Sullivan after his conviction as the “Beast of Birkenhead.”
Mr. Sullivan requested in 2008 to be reviewed by the criminal case review commission, but his application was rejected. He requested permission to appeal in 2019, but that was also rejected.
After another application was filed in 2021, the Commission decided that, due to technological advances, it was worth trying the preserved semen samples of the crime scene in 1986. They did not coincide with Mr. Sullivan’s DNA.
The Police, who since then has reopened his investigation into the case, says that more than 260 men have been Screeteed and eliminated from his investigation.
“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Diane Sindall, who continue to cry their loss and will have to endure the implications of this new development so many years after their murder,” the Superintendent Director of Detectives Karen Jaundrill de Mrasesidrill of the mesidrill of the mesididrill of the messesidrill. “We are committed to doing everything that belongs to our power to find who the DNA belongs, which was the last in the scene.”
After his judgment, Mr. Sullivan was the initial legal representation denied and confessed the murder before retracting it. For a long time he has protested his innocence, a factor that makes it more difficult to obtain probation.
In a statement, the criminal case review commission said that “the new DNA evidence that has led to the conviction of Mr. Sullivan that is annulled could not have the leg available when their case consults for the first time”, which SIM, just to send, The Counts is in 2008.
He added: “However, we regret not having been able to identify the conviction of Mr. Sullivan as a possible spontaneous abortion of justice in our first review.”
