Utah Death Row Inmate Freed After New DNA Evidence Emerges
A Utah judge released Douglas Carter, 71, on bail after new DNA analysis excluded him from the 1985 killing of Eva Olesen. He awaits a new trial.
A 71-year-old man who spent decades on Utah's death row walked free Monday after a judge ordered his release on bail, following newly analyzed DNA evidence that prosecutors say does not link him to the 1985 killing of a police chief's aunt.
Douglas Stewart Carter was convicted of murdering Eva Olesen, who was stabbed and shot in her home. He has consistently maintained his innocence, claiming a signed confession was coerced. No physical evidence tied him to the scene, yet a jury convicted him based on that confession and testimony from two witnesses who said he bragged about the killing. Both witnesses later recanted.
Last year, the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial, citing misconduct by investigators. On Monday, Judge Derek Pullan ruled that Carter could be released on bail over objections from the victim's family. The judge acknowledged that DNA results received Sept. 22 — which excluded Carter as a possible match to blood on a doorknob and genetic material on a knife handle — further undermined the case, though he noted a reasonable jury could still convict.
Carter is required to wear a GPS monitor while awaiting retrial and has been ordered to have no contact with Olesen's family. He left jail late Monday in a white shirt and grey sweatpants, his eyeglasses hanging from his neck, smiling at times while trying to shield his face behind papers. He did not speak to journalists and departed in a vehicle with his son and defense attorney.
His son, Tyler Anger, waited outside with pillows, blankets and personal belongings. "I want him to see the stars. I'd like for him to just get a life that we all get to live," Anger said. He added that he holds no animosity toward the Olesen family but is angry at certain unnamed individuals.
Anger, who was adopted by another family as an infant and only learned of his father's conviction years later, will host Carter at an extended-stay hotel near his home, according to defense attorney Neal Hamilton. Hamilton said Carter will also need therapy to cope with his long incarceration.
Carter, a Black man, was convicted of killing Olesen, who was white — a fact his legal team has highlighted in arguing that racial bias tainted the original proceedings.