Because of DNA: He sat on death row for 41 years – and is not executed

Douglas Stuart Carter, convicted of murder in 1985 and sentenced to death, spent 41 years on Utah's death row. New DNA tests have excluded him from evidence found at the crime scene. The prosecution has dropped the death penalty in his retrial but has not yet dismissed the aggravated murder charge.

Douglas Stuart Carter, 71, spent 41 years on death row in Utah after being convicted in 1985 of murdering Eva Olsen, the aunt of the Provo police chief. He maintained his innocence throughout. This week, new DNA test results from the Utah crime lab excluded any match between Carter and the blood found on the door handle and the genetic material on the knife handle used in the stabbing. Following these findings, the prosecution announced it is waiving the death penalty in his retrial. However, the prosecution has not yet dismissed the aggravated murder charge. District Attorney Jeffrey Gray argued that the DNA "does not necessarily exonerate" Carter, noting that the gun was never found and that Carter allegedly confessed to several people. Carter's case was tainted by police misconduct: his signed confession was obtained after three consecutive days of interrogation, key witnesses lied after officers offered them rewards and threatened them with deportation, and an investigator concealed evidence pointing to the husband as a suspect. In 2022, his conviction was overturned, and last year the Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial. The prosecution has now asked the court to consider his release on bail. The next hearing is set for November 10, and his retrial is expected to begin next July.