Utah judge grants bail to former death-row inmate Douglas Carter pending retrial
A Utah County judge ordered the release of Douglas Carter on bail after DNA testing showed his genetic material did not match evidence from the 1985 murder for which he had spent more than four decades on death row.
A Utah County judge issued a bail order for Douglas Carter, 71, allowing him to leave custody while a new trial is considered in the 1985 killing of Eva Olesen. The decision follows prosecutors’ recent move to drop the death-penalty charge after DNA analysis indicated Carter’s DNA did not match blood found at the crime scene.
Carter’s release will be subject to conditions, including a GPS monitoring device and a court-ordered prohibition on contacting Olesen’s family. The state did not contest the bail, though a family representative for the victim expressed doubt that the new DNA results exonerate Carter.
"We are profoundly grateful to see Doug finally go home, but we are also heartbroken by the theft of his life," said Carter’s attorney Neal Hamilton, who also urged the state to dismiss the pending charges.
Carter was originally convicted in 1985 and reconvicted in 1992, receiving the death penalty each time. A 2022 ruling vacated his conviction and ordered a new trial, a decision upheld by the Utah Supreme Court in 2025. Subsequent investigations uncovered allegations of misconduct, including claims that witnesses were coerced and offered incentives to testify against Carter. The case is now being re-examined in light of the DNA findings and the alleged procedural irregularities.