Utah judge to rule if Douglas Carter will be released on bail after 41 years behind bars
by Emily Ashcraft ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Douglas Carter may be released on bail after 41 years in prison and much of it on death row, a judge will make a ruling by the end of Monday.
- His conviction was overturned due to evidence of misconduct, and recently a DNA test showed he was excluded from DNA samples from the crime scene.
- Prosecutors announced on Wednesday they were no longer seeking the death penalty, and did not contest his release. The victim's family did contest his release.
PROVO — Douglas Carter has been behind bars for 41 years, with much of that time spent on death row. He has a chance at being released on bail after his conviction was overturned earlier this year.
Fourth District Judge Derek Pullan said he will rule Monday in a written ruling by the end of the day.
The judge denied Carter's request for bail earlier this month, but in the hearing that led to that decision, prosecutors and the family of the woman he is accused of killing argued against his release.
Last Wednesday, prosecutors announced they would not be seeking the death penalty in his next trial on the same charge, aggravated murder, a first-degree felony. The state also asked the judge to consider releasing him ahead of his trial.
This change in stance came after a DNA report excluded Carter from multiple samples collected at the crime scene.
Carter, 70, is accused of killing Eva Olesen, 57, in her Provo home in 1985. He was found guilty and sentenced to death later that year.
In 2022, Pullan reversed his conviction and sentence after his attorneys presented evidence of prosecutor and officer misconduct — witnesses had come forward to say they had been bribed and threatened. The Utah Supreme Court affirmed that ruling in 2025, sending the case back to the 4th District Court for another trial.
The trial is currently scheduled for eight weeks beginning July 26, 2027.
Olesen's family is still asking the court to keep Carter behind bars while he awaits the new trial.
"To know he is out of jail wandering freely and capable of heinous acts puts the Olesen family in a vulnerable position. The security of knowing he will be confined while waiting trial is a guarantee for the victims that he will not be free to harm others and will stand trial," her son, Peter Olesen, said.
Eva Olesen's daughter-in-law, Theresa Olesen, spoke at Monday's hearing and said she believes it is best for Carter to remain in jail.
"We reiterate that the current findings do not exonerate Carter. Over 40 years ago, procedures did not happen as carefully as they do now. My feelings and concerns about the possibility of this release have not changed," she said.
Prosecutors pointed to a signed confession from Carter and a missing gun that shoots the same ammunition as a gun owned by Carter's wife, which was also not recovered, and said he is not exonerated.
Carter's attorney Neal Hamilton has argued that Carter was threatened into making the confession. Pullan will soon decide whether that confession can be shown to any jurors at trial.
In Monday's hearing, Hamilton cited an FBI expert who said the murderer's blood would likely have been at the crime scene.
"We now know for a certainty that evidence is not from Doug Carter. He is not the murderer," he said. "We ask the court to set that innocent person free today."
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