Prosecutors no longer seeking death penalty against Douglas Carter, citing new DNA evidence

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Prosecutors said Wednesday they are no longer seeking the death penalty for Douglas Carter after new DNA evidence.
The state requested another bail hearing, shortly after Carter's request for bail was denied.
Although not exonerated, prosecutors say DNA excluded Carter from certain blood evidence in the case.

PROVO — After receiving a DNA report, prosecutors said they no longer intend to seek the death penalty for a man who had his conviction overturned after decades on death row.

A legal filing on Wednesday from Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray said the DNA evidence doesn't exonerate Douglas Carter, but the DNA from blood on a doorknob and the handle of a knife used in the crime excluded Carter.

"The county attorney has concluded that this new DNA evidence is sufficient reason to withdraw the state's notice of intent to seek the death penalty, re-examine the decision to move forward with the prosecution, and readdress Carter's custody status," the motion says.

Carter, 70, is charged with aggravated murder, a capital offense, and accused of killing Eva Olesen in her Provo home in 1985.

On May 15, 2025, Utah Supreme Court judges affirmed a district court decision from 4th District Judge Derek Pullan granting Carter a new trial, citing "intentional misconduct" from police officers and a prosecutor.

His eight-week jury trial was scheduled to begin on July 26, 2027, and run through Sept. 20. Pullan is retiring before the end of this year, so although he scheduled the jury trial, it will be held with a different judge.

Shortly before scheduling the trial was set, Pullan issued an order denying Carter's request to be allowed out on bail while awaiting his next trial. Now, with the additional evidence, prosecutors said the issue of bail should be readdressed.

Gray asked for a bail hearing "at the earliest date available" to reconsider his release while the case is ongoing.

Pullan recently ruled with prosecutors against allowing bail. He determined that prosecutors presented substantial evidence to support the crime, including a confession from Carter to an officer, and that there were not release conditions that could mitigate the risk that Carter would flee.

The judge said there is evidence that could undermine the credibility of key witnesses and Carter's confession, but a jury should assess that.

"Facing the death penalty in a second trial at which a signed confession may be admitted into evidence, Carter has a strong incentive to flee the jurisdiction of the court," the judge said in the order. "The natural impulse for self-preservation from death is too deeply seeded in the human heart."

The order noted that in 1985 Carter fled to Tennessee to avoid an arrest for an unrelated assault.

Multiple members of Eva Olesen's family asked for Carter to be kept in custody at an August hearing. In Gray's motion on Wednesday, he said Olesen's family had been notified of their request to address bail again and the new DNA evidence.

Gray said in the motion that Olesen was shot with a .357 or .38 caliber gun that was never found, and witnesses testified that Carter's wife owned a .38 caliber gun that was also not found. It also cited Carter's confession as a reason he is not exonerated at this point.

This story may be updated.

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