Peter Sullivan is likely the person who has been imprisoned the longest in the country, although he is innocent. Three judges have overturned the verdict after sperm samples from the victim's body showed that they came from someone else.
The man was arrested a month after 21-year-old Diane Sidwell was found murdered in Bebington near Liverpool in August 1986.
Sullivan was convicted in 1987 and his attempts to appeal the verdict over the years have failed. However, on Tuesday, his lawyers were able to present DNA evidence that the sperm stains on the victim's body did not come from him. This was considered sufficient to overturn the previous guilty verdict.
Sullivan, who cried with joy when the judges overturned the verdict, said that he is neither angry nor bitter despite the verdict being incorrect.
