Peter Sullivan’s statement after murder conviction quashed at Court of AppealSource: PA
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00:00I lost my liberty four decades ago over a crime I did not commit.
00:04We now know how very different the times we live in are
00:07from scientific advances, legal practice and methods of investigation and questioning by the police.
00:14What happened to me was very wrong, but it does not detract or minimise that all of this happened
00:20off the back of a heinous and most terrible loss of life.
00:24I did not commit murder or unlawfully take the life of any person throughout the span of my own.
00:31As God is my witness, it is said, the truth shall set you free.
00:36It is unfortunate that it does not give a timescale.
00:40As we advance towards resolving the wrongs done to me, I am not angry, I am not bitter.
00:46I am simply anxious to return to my loved ones and family
00:51as I have got to make the most of what is left of the existence I am granted in this world.
00:57I am aware of how cruel time can be to a person stripped of their youth and mobility, sight and hearing.
01:03I have had to silently endure this and watch it stripped from me in the worst environment imaginable.
01:10I will not comment on the horrors done to me over that time.
01:13There are too many.
01:15With this, I humbly request that you allow me my privacy
01:18while I begin repairing what I may from the driftwood that is my life.
01:22I am so grateful to Sarah Myatt and Jim Littlehales from Switolsky Solicitors
01:27who have been committed to my case for 20 years.
01:30They have stood by me through the good times and the bad
01:32while I fought to prove my innocence.
01:35I would also like to thank Jason Pitter, my KC,
01:38and Emily Cairns and her team from the CCRC.
01:41Without the combined efforts of Sarah, Jim, Jason and Emily,
01:46this outcome would not have been possible.
01:48I will be eternally grateful to each and every one of them.
01:52Thank you also to the Miscarriage of Justice Support Service.
01:55Matilda and Leon have been very helpful in helping me prepare for today.
01:59I would also like to say thank you to my loved ones and family members
02:03who have stood by me and who continue to support me through this.
02:07Finally, I would like to say how sorry I am to the family of Diane Sindel
02:12who have now got to come to terms with the death of their daughter
02:15being down to someone else
02:17and I long to see the right thing done for this horrible crime
02:20so that they will find peace.
02:23Thank you for listening to me.
02:24Svitolski's solicitors will continue to support Peter
02:29through this overwhelming transition
02:31and continue to stand beside him
02:33in the pursuit of truth and accountability.
02:37We've lost Peter for 39 years
02:40and at the end of the day it's not just us.
02:44We haven't won, Peter hasn't won
02:46and neither is the Sindel family.
02:48They've lost their daughter, they're not going to get her back.
02:52We've got Peter back
02:53and now we've got to try and build a life around him again.
02:56So at the end of the day
02:57we feel sorry for the Sindels
03:00and it's such a shame
03:02that all this has had to happen in the first place.
03:04So that's it now.
03:06Do you feel when you heard you used to stand up?
03:09Ecstatic.
03:10It shouldn't have happened in the first place
03:12and now it's out in the open.
03:16Everybody knows about it now
03:17and let's hope people will start respecting all our wishes now
03:22and understand that Peter was called so many different names
03:26and that all needs to be squashed now
03:29because Peter was never anything
03:31of what he was being called in the first place.
03:34So thank you very much.
03:35My name's Kim.
03:38I'm his sister.
03:39Yeah.