Man on Death Row for 41 Years Released on Bail After DNA Evidence Clears Him

A 71-year-old American man who spent more than four decades on death row has been released on bail after newly analysed DNA evidence reportedly failed to match him to the 1985 murder for which he was convicted.

Douglas Stewart Carter was sentenced to death in 1985 after being found guilty of the murder of Eva Olesen, who was the aunt of the Provo police chief at the time.

A Utah judge has now ordered Carter’s release on bail following developments in the case, including the analysis of previously available DNA evidence that prosecutors said did not match Carter.

Carter has consistently maintained his innocence and challenged the circumstances surrounding his conviction. His defence has argued that a confession he signed was coerced.

The case attracted renewed scrutiny after the Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year, citing misconduct by investigators.

Despite the absence of physical evidence directly linking Carter to the crime scene, prosecutors secured his conviction largely on the basis of his alleged confession and testimony from two witnesses who claimed he had bragged about killing Olesen.

Carter, who is Black, was convicted in a case involving Olesen, who was White.

Following the judge’s decision, Carter is expected to stay in extended accommodation near the family of his son. The son was adopted by another family as an infant and only learned about his father’s conviction years later.

His defence attorney, Neal Hamilton, said Carter would also require therapy and other support to help him cope with the psychological consequences of spending decades behind bars.

“It’s not just as simple as, ‘Let’s let him go,’” Hamilton said, describing Carter’s release as the beginning of a difficult adjustment after what he characterised as decades of state-induced trauma.

The case is expected to proceed as prosecutors and defence lawyers consider the implications of the DNA findings and the court’s earlier decision ordering a new trial.

Carter’s release does not itself amount to a final determination of his innocence, but the DNA findings and questions surrounding his original conviction have significantly altered the legal landscape of a case that has kept him on death row for 41 years.