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Douglas Carter freed on bail after DNA excludes him in 1985 Utah killing

A Utah judge granted bail to Douglas Stewart Carter, 71, after new DNA tests excluded him from evidence in the 1985 killing of Eva Olesen. A murder charge is still pending and prosecutors are reviewing the case.

2 outlets · 1L · 0C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Metro
Image: Fox News

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The story, neutrally told

Douglas Stewart Carter, 71, left Utah County Jail on bail on Monday after decades on death row for the 1985 killing of Eva Olesen in Provo. New DNA tests excluded Carter as a source of blood on a doorknob and of genetic material on the handle of the knife used to stab Olesen. Judge Derek Pullan said the results further weakened the case against Carter but that a jury could still find Carter guilty; bail requires a GPS monitor and no contact with Olesen's family.

Carter's conviction and death sentence were overturned after the Utah Supreme Court cited misconduct, and a murder charge remains pending. Prosecutors dropped their plan to seek the death penalty at retrial, which had been planned for 2027, and are reassessing the evidence. The conviction had rested on a confession, which Carter says was coerced, and on two witnesses who later said police had paid them and told them to lie.

Olesen's family opposed release; her daughter-in-law Theresa Olesen said a missing DNA match does not prove Carter was never at the house. Carter's lawyer Neal Hamilton said Carter will stay near Carter's son and need therapy, and Fox News adds that Hamilton urged prosecutors to seek dismissal of the charge.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Human-interest account of a long imprisonment, stressing that the case remains open and that DNA 'casts doubt' rather than proves innocence.
Emphasis
Prosecutors' caution, the family's concerns, the court's finding of undisclosed payments to witnesses, and Carter's son.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the defence's claim about other suspects such as the victim's husband, or the alleged deportation threats against witnesses.
Charged language
“casts doubt”“a pretty remarkable change”
For example
“They’re currently reassessing the evidence, though they’ve stressed that the DNA result doesn’t, by itself, fully establish Carter’s innocence.” — Metro

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right1 outlet

Framing
Leads with the DNA exclusion and release, and gives fuller detail on alleged official misconduct and alternative suspects.
Emphasis
Police and prosecutor misconduct, witness recantations, deportation threats, the defence's alternative-suspect claims, and Hamilton's quote about execution.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not report prosecutors' caution that the DNA does not by itself establish innocence.
Charged language
“intentional misconduct”
For example
“"If the state of Utah had their way, he would have been executed 15, 20 years ago before we discovered the misconduct," Hamilton said.” — Fox News