A man who spent decades on Utah’s death row is released and awaits a new trial

A 71-year-old man who was convicted of killing a police chief’s aunt and spent decades on death row was released Monday after prosecutors said newly analyzed DNA evidence did not link him to the crime.

A Utah judge ordered Douglas Stewart Carter be let out on bail late Monday over objections from the victim’s family. Carter is required to wear a GPS monitor while he awaits a new trial in the 1985 killing of Eva Olesen.

The state Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year, citing misconduct by investigators. Carter has maintained his innocence and says a signed confession was coerced.

No physical evidence linked him to the crime scene. But the jury convicted Carter, a Black man, based on the confession and the testimony of two witnesses who said he bragged about killing Olesen, who was white. Those witnesses later recanted.

A DNA analysis received Sept. 22 excluded Carter as a possible match to blood found on a doorknob and genetic material recovered from the handle of a knife used to stab Olesen, who was also shot.

Judge Derek Pullan said those results further undermined the case against Carter, but a reasonable jury still could conclude that he…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business