A 71-year-old American man who spent 41 years behind bars, much of that time on death row, has been released on bail after newly analysed DNA evidence failed to link him to the 1985 murder for which he was convicted.
Douglas Stewart Carter was released on Monday from Utah County Jail after a judge ordered his release while he awaits a new trial in connection with the killing of 57-year-old Eva Olesen in Provo, Utah.
Carter was sentenced to death in 1985 after being convicted of murdering Olesen, the aunt of the Provo police chief at the time. He was sentenced to death again following a 1992 retrial. Throughout his imprisonment, Carter maintained that he was innocent and said a confession he signed during police interrogation had been coerced.
The latest development came after DNA testing of evidence from the crime scene. Prosecutors said the analysis, received on September 22, excluded Carter as a possible contributor to blood found on a doorknob and genetic material recovered from the handle of a knife believed to have been used in the killing.
The findings prompted Utah prosecutors to abandon their plan to seek the death penalty in Carter’s upcoming retrial. They have not, however, withdrawn the murder charge, and prosecutors have maintained that the DNA results do not by themselves conclusively establish Carter’s innocence.
A Utah judge subsequently granted Carter bail despite objections from members of Olesen’s family. As a condition of his release, Carter must wear a GPS monitoring device, observe a curfew and have no direct or indirect contact with the victim’s family.
Judge Derek Pullan said the DNA findings substantially weakened the evidence previously relied upon in considering Carter’s continued detention. However, he also said the remaining evidence could still allow a jury to reach a guilty verdict.
Carter’s conviction had long faced questions. There was no physical evidence originally linking him to the crime scene, while prosecutors relied heavily on his signed confession and testimony from two witnesses who said Carter had boasted about killing Olesen.
The witnesses later recanted their testimony. In 2011, they said police had instructed them to lie in court and had provided them with money and other benefits. They also alleged that investigators threatened them and their son with deportation if they refused to testify against Carter.
Carter’s lawyers have also argued that investigators failed to adequately pursue other possible suspects. According to court records cited in reports, defence lawyers have pointed to testimony that a white man was seen leaving the area around the time of the killing and have alleged that evidence potentially implicating Olesen’s husband, Orla Olesen, was not properly pursued.
Orla Olesen, who died in 2009, told investigators that he discovered his wife’s body at their home. The murder involved both stabbing and a gunshot, while the firearm used in the killing was never recovered.
A major legal turning point came in 2022, when Judge Pullan overturned Carter’s conviction and sentence after evidence of misconduct by investigators and prosecutors was presented. The Utah Supreme Court affirmed the decision in 2025 and ordered a new trial, citing multiple instances of intentional misconduct involving police officers and a prosecutor.
After Monday’s release, Carter’s lawyer, Neal Hamilton, described the development as significant after what he characterised as decades of state-imposed trauma. Hamilton said Carter had spent more than 15,000 days in custody and now needed time and support to adjust to life outside prison.
Carter is expected to stay near his son’s family while the case continues. His lawyer has called for prosecutors to dismiss the case entirely and investigate whether another person was responsible for Olesen’s death.
The victim’s family, meanwhile, has expressed concerns about Carter’s release. Theresa Olesen, the victim’s daughter-in-law, said the family wanted justice and cautioned that the DNA findings did not necessarily establish what happened during the murder.
The state has scheduled a new trial for 2027. Prosecutors have withdrawn their intention to seek the death penalty, meaning Carter would face a different sentencing framework if he were eventually convicted.
For now, Carter remains formally charged with the murder and has not been judicially declared innocent. But after more than four decades behind bars, the DNA evidence and findings of investigative misconduct have fundamentally altered the legal circumstances surrounding one of Utah’s longest-running death-row cases.
