Man released on bail after 41 years on death row
A man who spent 41 years on death row in the US after being convicted of killing a woman has been released on bail after prosecutors said newly analysed DNA evidence did not link him to the crime.
Douglas Stewart Carter, now 71, has been released on bail after spending 41 years on death row in the United States for the murder of Eva Olesen in 1985. Carter maintains his innocence, claiming his confession was coerced. Prosecutors have stated that newly analyzed DNA evidence does not link him to the crime. The Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year due to misconduct by investigators and Carter was bailed on Monday despite objections from the victim's family.
Olesen, the aunt of a local police chief, was stabbed and shot at her home in Provo, Utah, in February 1985. Initially convicted based on the confession and testimony of two witnesses who later admitted to lying under police pressure, Carter was eventually found in Nashville, Tennessee, and confessed. However, a DNA analysis now excludes him as a match to blood found at the crime scene.
Carter, who is black, alleges that witnesses saw a white man fleeing the scene and that evidence pointing to the victim's husband was suppressed. The victim's family opposes Carter's release, expressing concerns about his potential danger.
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