A 71-year-old man who spent 41 years on de@th row for a 1985 m¥rder has been ordered released on bail after newly analyzed DNA evidence excluded him as a possible match.
Douglas Stewart Carter was sentenced to de@th in 1985 after being convicted of m¥rdering Eva Olesen, the aunt of the Provo police chief at the time. Carter, who has always maintained his innocence, said his confession was coerced.
The Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year after finding multiple instances of intentional misconduct by police and a prosecutor. Carter’s retrial had been scheduled for 2027, but prosecutors recently withdrew their notice to seek the de@th penalty.
Utah County prosecutors told the court that DNA results received on September 22 excluded Carter as a possible match to blood found on a doorknob and genetic material recovered from the handle of the knife used to st@b Olesen, who was also sh+t.
