A Utah man spent 41 years on death row for a 1985 killing, then DNA from the knife handle came back and it wasn’t his

A 71-year-old man who spent 41 years on death row for a 1985 killing has been ordered released on bail after new DNA evidence excluded him as a possible match. Douglas Stewart Carter, who has maintained his innocence for decades, can now be released while he awaits a retrial following a judge’s ruling on Monday.

As reported by AP News, Carter was convicted of murdering Eva Olesen, an aunt of the then-Provo police chief. The case against him relied on a confession he claims was coerced and testimony from witnesses who later admitted they were paid to lie. The Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year after finding multiple instances of intentional misconduct by investigators and a prosecutor.

The DNA analysis, received on September 22, excluded Carter as a potential match for blood found on a doorknob and genetic material collected from the handle of the knife used to stab Olesen. Judge Derek Pullan noted that a reasonable jury could still potentially conclude Carter was involved, but he acknowledged that the new results significantly undermine the case against him.

Carter is walking out to a son he didn’t know he had

Carter’s defense attorney, Neal Hamilton, said his client was expected to be fitted with a GPS monitor and released on Monday night. Carter is slated to stay in extended stay accommodations near his son, whom he did not know about until years after his initial conviction.

Hamilton also noted that Carter will require therapy to manage the trauma of his incarceration. He described it as 41 years of “state-induced trauma” that will be difficult to process.

The case shifted in 2011, when the two key witnesses from the original trial, Epifanio and Lucia Tovar, were found in Mexico. They said police had given them cash and gifts in exchange for their testimony and threatened them with deportation if they did not implicate Carter.

A postconviction court later found that officers had paid the couple over $4,000 and instructed them to lie under oath. Carter’s defense attorneys have also claimed that investigators suppressed evidence pointing to other suspects, including the victim’s husband. In a separate case last year, a New York jury returned a record wrongful conviction payout for the estate of a Buffalo man.

During the bond hearing, the victim’s family expressed “serious concerns” about Carter’s release. Prosecutors, who had originally planned to seek the death penalty again, withdrew that notice last week.

A retrial is currently scheduled for 2027, and the state is still reviewing the remaining evidence. Carter will live outside prison wearing a GPS monitor while the case proceeds.