A Utah judge on Monday ordered a 71-year-old man who spent decades on death row for a 1985 killing to be released on bail, despite objections from the victim’s family, after prosecutors said newly analyzed DNA evidence did not match him.
Douglas Stewart Carter was sentenced to death that same year after a jury found him guilty of murdering Eva Olesen, an aunt of the Provo police chief at the time.
The state Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year, citing misconduct by investigators. Carter has maintained his innocence and says a signed confession was coerced.
No physical evidence linked him to the crime scene, but the jury convicted Carter, a Black man, based on the confession and two witnesses who said he bragged about killing Olesen, who was white. Those witnesses later recanted.
A DNA analysis received Sept. 22 excluded Carter as a possible match to blood found on a doorknob and genetic material recovered from the handle of a knife used to stab Olesen, who was also shot.
Judge Derek Pullan said those results further undermined the case against Carter, but a reasonable jury still could conclude that he killed Olesen.
Pullan ordered Carter to wear a GPS monitor as a condition of his release, and to avoid contact with Olesen’s family. Defense attorney Neal Hamilton said Carter was expected to be fitted with the monitor and released Monday night.
Carter will be placed in an extended stay accommodation near the family of his son, who was adopted by another family as an infant and didn’t learn about the conviction until years later, Hamilton said. Carter also will need therapy to deal with his extended incarceration, the defense attorney said.
Man on Death Row For Decades Released On Bail After DNA Tests Show No Match To Him
