Utah: released after 41 years on death row thanks to DNA

A 71-year-old man who spent more than four decades on death row in Utah (west) wrongly accused of murdering a woman was released Monday after new DNA analyses, his lawyer announced Tuesday.

Douglas Stewart Carter was convicted in 1985 of the murder of Eva Olesen, who was the aunt of the police chief of Provo, a city in Utah. He was convicted again in a retrial in 1992.

This black man had been implicated by two witnesses and had signed a confession. The version put forward by the prosecution was that of a burglary gone wrong. Mr Carter continued to maintain his innocence, claiming his confessions had been coerced by the police, before both witnesses admitted two decades later that the police had paid them and pressured them to testify for the prosecution.

“The state stole 41 years of his life and subjected him to the horrors of death row for more than 40 years, but tonight he is finally home,” said Neal Hamilton, his lawyer, in a statement to AFP. “It’s a great day,” he said.

A new trial planned for 2027

It was necessary to wait for new DNA analyzes of samples taken from the crime scene, which did not match that of Mr. Carter, for him to be released on bail. Mr. Carter's defense pointed to other testimony saying a white man was seen leaving the crime scene.