Nocturnal 
A man who spent 41 years on death row has walked free after new DNA testing showed he wasn’t a match for evidence in the murder he was convicted of.
Douglas Stewart Carter, now 71, left Utah County jail late on Monday night after a judge ordered his release on bail, according to The Guardian. He’ll have to wear a GPS monitor until his retrial takes place.
Carter was convicted in 1985, and again after a retrial in 1992, of killing Eva Olesen, the aunt of a former Provo police chief. He was sentenced to death both times. No physical evidence linked him to the scene at either trial. Instead, jurors relied on a signed confession and the testimony of two witnesses who later said they had been pressured to lie.
What the new DNA evidence shows
Results of a fresh DNA analysis, received on 22 September, excluded Carter as a possible match to blood found on a doorknob and to genetic material recovered from the handle of a knife used to stab Olesen, who was also shot, as reported by The Boston Globe.
Judge Derek Pullan said the results further undermined the case against Carter, but stopped short of clearing him entirely, saying a jury could still reasonably conclude he was involved. Utah County prosecutors withdrew their notice to seek the death penalty last week, and a retrial had been scheduled for 2027.
The Utah Supreme Court had already ordered a new trial last year after citing misconduct by investigators. A turning point in Carter’s case came in 2011, when the two witnesses from his original trial were tracked down in Mexico. They said they had been told to lie in court and had been given cash and gifts by police, according to The Independent.
Carter, who is Black, was convicted by a jury in the killing of Olesen, who was white. He always maintained his innocence and says he was coerced into signing a confession while being interrogated by a Provo detective after his arrest in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1986.
‘Heartbroken by the theft of his life’
Carter’s attorney, Neal Hamilton, said his client was being released with “41 years of state-induced trauma” and would need therapy to cope with the impact of his incarceration, per the Boston Globe. Carter will reportedly live in extended-stay accommodation near the family of his son, who was adopted as an infant and didn’t learn of his father’s conviction until years later.
In a statement to Salt Lake City’s KSL, Hamilton said: “We are profoundly grateful to see Doug finally go home, but we are also heartbroken by the theft of his life. When Doug was arrested, he was a bright young man standing on the cusp of his future. He leaves custody a 71-year-old man hoping to enjoy what remains of the twilight years of his life.”
Not everyone is convinced of Carter’s innocence. Theresa Olesen, Eva Olesen’s daughter-in-law, told the bail hearing the family had “serious concerns” about his release. “By golly, we were hoping for a concrete match,” she said. “It doesn’t mean he wasn’t there. We just want justice for Eva. And if he had any part of it we want that to be known.”
Utah County prosecutor Erwin Petilos said reassessing Carter’s bail was “necessary and fair” while the state continues examining the remaining evidence in the case. Carter’s legal team is now pushing for the outstanding aggravated murder charge against him to be dropped entirely, but for now he remains on bail awaiting a retrial.
