Utah Judge Grants Bail to Long-Term Death Row Inmate After DNA Tests Exclude Him

A Utah judge on Monday ordered the release on bail of 71-year-old Douglas Stewart Carter, who had been on death row for a 1985 murder, after prosecutors presented newly analyzed DNA evidence that excluded him as a match to biological material found at the crime scene. Carter had been sentenced to death in 1985 after a jury convicted him based on a confession he later said was coerced and testimony from two witnesses who claimed he bragged about the killing; both witnesses later recanted. The state Supreme Court had ordered a new trial last year, citing investigative misconduct.

The DNA analysis, received on Sept. 22, found no match between Carter’s DNA and blood on a doorknob or genetic material on a knife handle used in the murder of Eva Olesen, a white woman who was the aunt of the Provo police chief at the time. Judge Derek Pullan said the results further weakened the prosecution’s case, though he noted a jury could still find sufficient evidence of guilt. As a condition of his release, Carter must wear a GPS monitor and avoid contact with Olesen’s family.

Defense attorney Neal Hamilton said Carter was expected to be released Monday night, adding that the situation is complex and the man has endured decades of trauma.

"It's not just as simple as, 'Let's let him go,'" Hamilton said. "He's being released with 41 years of state-induced trauma, and the effect it will have on him is very real."

Family members of the victim expressed serious concerns about the release and sought clarification on Carter’s possible involvement.

"By golly we were hoping for a concrete match," said Theresa Olesen, a daughter-in-law of Eva Olesen. "It doesn't mean he wasn't there."