Man Exonerated After Decades on Death Row

A man from Utah, Douglas Stewart Carter, has been released after spending years on death row. His conviction was for the murder of a police chief’s aunt, but recent DNA testing has cleared him as the contributor of evidence found at the crime scene.

Carter, who is now 71, was granted bail late Monday despite objections from the victim’s family. As he awaits a new trial, he is required to wear a GPS monitor. The victim, Eva Olesen, was discovered tied up, stabbed, and shot in her home back on February 27, 1985, in what was thought to be a robbery.

The judge has mandated that Carter must not contact Olesen’s family. In a significant turn of events, the Utah Supreme Court had previously called for a new trial due to misconduct by investigators.

Carter has always insisted on his innocence, claiming that he was forced into signing a confession. Interestingly, there was no physical evidence that directly linked him to the crime scene; rather, his conviction stemmed from that confession and two witnesses who had claimed he bragged about the murder—both of whom later retracted their statements.

New DNA evidence presented on September 22 has now excluded Carter as a possible match for blood found on a doorknob and genetic material from the knife used to stab Olesen. Judge Derek Pullan acknowledged that these findings weaken the prosecution’s case, although he noted that a jury could still potentially find him guilty.

Waiting for his father after the ruling, Carter’s son, Tyler Anger, said, “This is going to be a lot for him.” Tyler, who was adopted and only discovered his father’s conviction later in life, will have Carter stay in an extended stay hotel nearby. Carter will also likely require therapy to cope with the psychological impact of his long incarceration.

According to Carter’s attorney, Neal Hamilton, if the state had its way, Carter might have been executed many years ago, before the misconduct was uncovered. He has urged the prosecution to dismiss the aggravated murder charges still pending against Carter.

The two-month retrial had been scheduled for next year, but the county prosecutors recently withdrew their intent to pursue the death penalty. Prosecutor Erwin Petilos remarked that reevaluating Carter’s bail was “necessary and fair,” as the state continues investigating the remaining evidence.

At the time of the murder, Carter lived with his mother in Utah, but he fled the state shortly thereafter, believing he was a suspect in another case. He was eventually detained in Nashville, where he signed a confession during an intense interrogation with a Provo detective.

Carter later claimed that the confession was coerced, asserting that police had threatened him during questioning. After a trial where no defense witnesses testified, he was convicted and sentenced to death. His conviction was upheld after a retrial in 1992, and multiple appeals were denied over the years.

Later, in 2011, it was discovered that the two witnesses from Carter’s original trial had recanted their testimonies, indicating they had been pressured and compensated by police for their statements. They revealed that they had been threatened with deportation if they did not implicate Carter. Following years of legal battles, the Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year, highlighting substantial misconduct by law enforcement and prosecution. The recent DNA evidence resulted from this order and ultimately led to Carter’s exoneration.

Prosecutors have not clarified whether they intend to further investigate for any other potential suspects in light of the new DNA findings. Carter’s legal team has emphasized discrepancies, noting that witnesses described seeing a White man fleeing the scene, and suggested evidence might have been suppressed that could implicate others, including the victim’s husband, Orla Olesen.

During the bond hearing, Theresa Olesen, Eva’s daughter-in-law, expressed her family’s worries about Carter’s release. “By golly we were hoping for a concrete match,” she said concerning the DNA results, adding that they still want justice and accountability for Eva.