A 71-year-old man who spent more than four decades on Utah's death row was released on bail Monday evening, after newly analyzed DNA evidence failed to match him to the 1985 killing he was convicted of.
Douglas Stewart Carter was sentenced to death in 1985 for the murder of Eva Olesen, 57, an aunt of the Provo police chief at the time, who was killed in her Provo home. No physical evidence linked him to the crime scene; the jury convicted him based on a confession and the testimony of two witnesses. He was sentenced to death again after a 1992 retrial.
In 2011, the two witnesses were tracked down in Mexico and recanted, saying Provo police had paid and threatened them. Carter's conviction was later overturned over the police misconduct, and the Utah Supreme Court upheld that ruling in 2025, sending the case back for a new trial.
Earlier this month, new DNA analysis of blood found on a doorknob in Olesen's home and genetic material from the handle of the murder weapon excluded Carter. Last week, Utah County prosecutors withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty.
Fourth District Judge Derek Pullan ordered Carter released over the objections of Olesen's family. He must wear a GPS monitor, keep an 11 p.m. curfew and have no contact with the victim's family. A retrial had been scheduled for 2027, and prosecutors have until November to decide whether to pursue it.
"He's being released with 41 years of state-induced trauma," his attorney said.
