header-logo header-logo

Sullivan confirmed as a miscarriage of justice

14 May 2025
Issue: 8116 / Categories: Legal News , Criminal
printer mail-detail
Peter Sullivan has had his conviction quashed, after serving 38 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Sullivan was found guilty in 1987 for the 1986 murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall.

In 2008, Sullivan applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), questioning DNA evidence. In 2019, he sought leave to appeal directly to the Court of Appeal. Both attempts were rejected.

In 2021, he applied to the CCRC again with concerns about his police interviews and bitemark evidence. This time, the CCRC obtained DNA samples taken at the time of the offence, which proved Sullivan’s innocence.

A CCRC spokesperson expressed ‘regret’ but said the scientific techniques relied on were not available at the time of Sullivan’s first application.

Switalskis solicitor Sarah Myatt, representing Sullivan, said: ‘This is an unprecedented and historic moment.’

Issue: 8116 / Categories: Legal News , Criminal
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
back-to-top-scroll