Utah Supreme Court orders new trial for man on death row after police misconduct surfaces
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Supreme Court ruled Thursday that 'numerous constitutional violations' during the trial and sentencing of a man who spent decades on death row merit a new trial.
Justices affirmed the ruling of a lower court judge who had ordered a new trial for Douglas Stewart Carter after finding issues with how police and prosecutors handled his case. Carter, 69, was sentenced to death in 1985 after a jury found him guilty of murdering Eva Olesen, the aunt of a former Provo police chief who was found stabbed a dozen times and shot in the head.
While no physical evidence linked him to the crime scene, prosecutors convicted Carter, a Black man, based on a written confession and two witnesses who said he had bragged about killing Olesen, a white woman. Carter has argued his confession was coerced.
In 2019, the Utah Supreme Court sent Carter's case back to a lower court for review after the witnesses — two immigrants without legal status — said police and prosecutors offered to pay their rent, coached them to lie in court and threatened to deport them or their son if they did not implicate Carter.
Judge Derek Pullan ordered a new trial in 2022, saying the witness testimonies and police misconduct prejudiced the original trial. The Utah Attorney General's office appealed, leading to the high court's decision Thursday.
'There is no question that these numerous constitutional violations — suppressing evidence, suborning perjury, and knowingly failing to correct false testimony — prejudiced Carter at both his trial and sentencing,' Justice Paige Petersen wrote in the high court's opinion.
It's rare, she added, to see a case involving 'multiple instances of intentional misconduct' by two police officers, including the lead investigator, and a prosecutor. Provo Police Lt. George Pierpont had obtained the confession from Carter, and Officer Richard Mack gathered witness statements. The postconviction court also found that prosecutor Wayne Watson was present when police directed a witness to lie, and that he did not correct the false testimony during trial.
Carter remains in prison while he awaits a new trial, said his attorney, Eric Zuckerman.
'Mr. Carter has spent more than forty years behind bars because of an unconstitutional conviction rooted in police and prosecutorial misconduct — including the suborning of perjury before a jury of his peers,' Zuckerman said in a statement. 'We are gratified that both the trial court and the Utah Supreme Court have validated Mr. Carter's claims. But no ruling can restore the four decades of freedom the state of Utah unjustly took from him.'
Carter is among several inmates involved in a separate lawsuit challenging Utah's execution methods and protocols.
Olesen's family has repeatedly expressed frustration that the decades-old murder case is ongoing.
'We extend our hearts and sympathies to the family of Eva Olesen, who have sought justice for her murder the last 40 years,' said Madison McMicken, a spokesperson for Utah Attorney General Derek Brown. 'We are disappointed the Olesen family does not yet have a resolution in this case.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
30 minutes ago
- Forbes
Minn. State Rep. Killed, Senator Shot In Alleged ‘Targeted' Attack
In what has been characterized by officials as a 'politically motivated assassination,' Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their home while State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot and remain in surgery. The chief suspect may have impersonated a law enforcement officer in the attacks on the two ... More Democratic lawmakers. A police alert warned that the 'suspect is armed and dangerous and may be impersonating law enforcement,' according to the Minnesota Star-Tribune. Deputy FBI director Dan Bongino posted on X that the bureau 'is working in collaboration with our local and state partners.' This is a developing news story—check back for updates.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US politician and husband shot dead in 'politically motivated assassination'
A US politician and her husband have been shot dead in a 'politically motivated assassination' by a suspect dressed as a police officer. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed that another state lawmaker and their spouse were also shot, but he said that he was 'optimistic that he will survive'. Those targeted in the pre-dawn attacks were identified in the reports as state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, of Champlin, and state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, of Brooklyn Park. Residents living in the suburban areas of Minneapolis were warned to stay indoors as police searched for a suspect, local media reported. Amy Klobuchar, one of Minnesota's U.S. senators, confirmed the identities of the victims of the "stunning act of violence" in a post on X, saying her prayers "are with the Hortman and Hoffman families. Both legislators are close friends and devoted to their families and public service." More to follow.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New jury trial set for Kamas mother charged with killing her husband
A request for an appeal in Kouri Richins' case has caused a 10-month delay in her case. New jury trial dates were scheduled in a virtual hearing on Friday, with jury selection beginning on Feb. 10, 2026, and the trial beginning two weeks later on Feb. 23. Her April trial was delayed when her attorneys said they wished to appeal a decision to only allow jurors from Summit County, as the court declined Richins' request to also have jurors from Salt Lake County. Richins is a mother and real estate agent who is charged with murdering her husband and attempting to murder him a month earlier. She was charged over a year after his death. With the new trial, her attorneys asked for more time to select a jury — since now it will come from only residents of Summit County — and for the trial itself to be one week longer than initially planned because of the length of the witness list. Kathy Nester said Richins may testify, and if she does, it would be 'very lengthy.' Other witnesses will also need a lot of time, in addition to video and audio tapes, Nester said. In Friday's hearing, 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik also set dates for additional hearings before the trial and asked attorneys to work together to decide when certain documents will be filed in order to have everything ready for the trial. There are currently four motions ready for oral argument and a decision, including requests to exclude the defense's expert witnesses, a motion from Richins' attorneys to not allow the 'Walk the Dog!!' letter into trial and prosecutor's request to bring evidence," Mrazik said. Kouri Richins' attorneys said they still wish to file at least one motion to ask for additional evidence to not be allowed in trial. Mrazik said the court will send jury questionnaires to 2,000 people, which is more than were sent for the previously scheduled trial. The court planned for six days to question jurors, with 40 potential jurors coming in each day. On March 4, 2022, Richins called dispatch to report her husband, Eric Richins, 39, was unresponsive in the early morning hours. She is accused of administering a fatal dose of fentanyl that night and has also been charged with giving a lethal dose of drugs to her husband on Valentine's Day, less than three weeks before. She was ordered to stand trial for aggravated murder and attempted murder, both first-degree felonies; two counts of distributing a controlled substance, two counts of insurance fraud and two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, all second-degree felonies; and three counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. Richins will face a separate trial for two counts of mortgage fraud, a second-degree felony, and two additional counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. Her attorneys said in a statement after the hearing that they are relieved she has a trial date and are confident 'once the facts are heard it will be clear to all that Kouri is innocent.' 'She is ready for the truth to come out — and of the false narratives that have defined this case to be confronted in a court of law,' they said. Richins' next hearing will be on Aug. 1.
