Sept. 30, 2026
Man Who Spent 4 Decades On Death Row, RELEASED After New DNA Testing
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RSS Feed 71-year-old Douglas Carter walked out of prison this week after spending 40 years on death row for a 1985 murder he says he never committed. Carter was finally freed after DNA from the crime scene excluded him as a suspect. Carter was finally granted a new trial last year after the Utah Supreme Court ruled the two witnesses who testified against him recanted their stories, revealing that police and a prosecutor gave them cash and gifts to point the finger at Carter. Prosecutors agreed with the judge to release Carter, despite objections from the victims’ family.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Wednesday, September 30th, and he spent 40 years on death row. Just walked out of prison this week. Yes, there might be a lot to celebrate, but there is a lot to be absolutely pissed about in this story. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Okay, finally, after 40 years of getting it right, bro, they just took this man's life. on death row for 40 years and now coming back and say, whoops, maybe he's not the guy.
00:00:34
Speaker 2: This is a hell of a story.
00:00:37
Speaker 3: And for anyone who believes in justice, you are going to be outraged when you hear what happened to this man.
00:00:44
Speaker 2: Yes, he is 71 years old now. Douglas Stewart Carter had a.
00:00:49
Speaker 3: Smile on his face when he left the courtroom this week, but my God, he has a lot to be upset about. He was convicted of killing a police chief's aunt. Again, 40 years ago, her name was Eva Olson. He has maintained his innocence from the beginning. However, he was convicted of And he unfortunately was coerced into providing a confession early on. And that, along with two witnesses, did him in.
00:01:22
Speaker 2: There was no.
00:01:23
Speaker 3: Physical evidence connecting him to this crime. And when you find out what happened to those two witnesses and then how long it took the justice system to slowly move its wheels to lead to this day where Carter was finally released.
00:01:40
Speaker 2: Your head's going to explode. I mean, it really is that outrageous.
00:01:44
Speaker 1: Well, Carter is, and yes, let's highlight the good news that finally after 40 years, and we need to highlight as well, Robes, over 40 years, we know a lot of death row inmates and a lot of death sentences get carried out in sometimes 20 years, in 30 years, certainly in 40. So we should all be looking at this and going, wow, what a relief, what a blessing that we didn't kill him. But Robes, we should be terrified at the fact that we got that close to killing Robes. What the state is now saying is all likelihood an innocent man. This was very, very close, and these are the exact mistakes, baby, we cannot make. This is, before you go to any moral objection, Robes, first and foremost, this is the problem with the death penalty, is because mistakes get made.
00:02:30
Speaker 2: Documented.
00:02:31
Speaker 1: Mistakes get made. We just can't make one, ever. Not one, not allowed. Not one. And we made one.
00:02:40
Speaker 2: And we made one.
00:02:40
Speaker 3: And we should say, thankfully, he was sentenced to death in the state of Utah. So, yes, in another state, if he had been sentenced to death in another state like Texas or Florida, South Carolina, some of the other heavy hitters.
00:02:55
Speaker 2: It might be too late.
00:02:56
Speaker 1: We'd never know. Yes. You're right.
00:02:58
Speaker 2: We wouldn't know.
00:02:58
Speaker 1: We wouldn't look into the case again.
00:03:00
Speaker 2: We wouldn't know.
00:03:01
Speaker 3: And the only reason why we do know is because he was given a new trial. It took a hell of a long time for him to get this new trial. But as a part of a new trial, he was allowed... to test DNA evidence in the case. It had never been tested before. And just days ago, the results from that DNA evidence excluded him from being at the crime scene.
00:03:27
Speaker 2: This is unbelievable.
00:03:30
Speaker 1: That's the thing, though. That ain't even it, right? We can still go back another 15 years where this dude should have been out because the only people who testified against him, who said they were witnesses of some kind... to what he did because he confessed to them. Well, we found these people 15 years ago who recanted their stories. So why has he been sitting in prison for the past 15 years?
00:03:52
Speaker 3: Legal wrangling, I believe, is the term that was used. Let's start from the beginning. So this all, this crime took place on February 27th, 1985. That's how long ago we're talking. And yes, Carter was living with his mom in Utah at the time. He left the state. He fled because he thought police might be looking at him for some other smaller crime and he just wanted to get out of Dodge. But that is what ultimately made him look guilty. Because look, that is not a good look when you're fleeing the state. There was a murder. You were near the area where this murder took place. You're a black man. She's a white woman. And now he's in a whole heap of trouble.
00:04:38
Speaker 1: And he killed the wrong white woman. Not that there would be a right one to kill, but he killed a white woman who was related to a member of law enforcement.
00:04:46
Speaker 3: Yes, the aunt of the police chief. And so when they finally got him or at least found him, they said they suspected that he killed her during a robbery, that this was a robbery attempt gone bad. Carter, eventually he was being interrogated for how long was it? Did they say how long this interrogation went? But ultimately he ended up signing a confession. while he was being interrogated by this Prova detective. Almost immediately, he said it was a false confession. He said he was being repeatedly threatened by police.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: He broke. He caved.
00:05:21
Speaker 3: He said, fine, I'll sign what you want me to sign. The reality is there was no physical evidence that linked him to the crime, and a jury convicted him based on that confession, and then just these two witnesses who came forward and testified at a trial said, saying he bragged about killing Olson.
00:05:41
Speaker 2: Literally, that was their only evidence against him.
00:05:44
Speaker 3: So he was convicted and sentenced to death, and his defense called no witnesses.
00:05:50
Speaker 2: He essentially had no defense.
00:05:52
Speaker 1: And again, to be clear here, the witnesses we're talking about, folks, were not witnesses to the crime. They didn't see him running out of a house, didn't see him hitting anybody, hurting anybody, carrying any stolen goods, nothing. The witnesses only say what he told them. So that's it, Robes, oftentimes hearsay, right? That testimony and what was the other piece of evidence?
00:06:17
Speaker 2: His confession.
00:06:17
Speaker 1: Oh, yes, the signed confession. That's a big deal, sent into prison, death row. He ended up getting a new trial just seven years later in 1992, Robes. Same result. Same results. Same thing, same evidence, conviction, death penalty. And that was it.
00:06:44
Speaker 2: OK, but then in 2011, there's a big break.
00:06:47
Speaker 3: So from 1985 to 2011, those two witnesses were tracked down in Mexico. They admitted that they were told to lie in court under oath and they were told to lie in court under oath.
00:07:04
Speaker 2: By police and a prosecutor.
00:07:06
Speaker 3: In fact, they say they were given cash and gifts by police who told them not to discuss the payments. Here's what you need to say when you take the stand. And he said that both the police, they both said the police and prosecutors threatened them and their son with deportation if they did not testify against Carter. Now, that isn't just what they said. The Utah Supreme Court said actually said that, yes, there were multiple instances of intentional misconduct by police and prosecutors.
00:07:42
Speaker 2: But guess how long it took the Utah Supreme Court to declare this?
00:07:46
Speaker 3: 14 years after these two, the only evidence against this man recanted their story, it still took 14 years for the Utah State Supreme Court to order a new trial for this man. And the only explanation is legal wrangling. You don't have a good lawyer. You don't have good representation. No one cares about you. You just, what, twist in the wind?
00:08:17
Speaker 2: It's horrific.
00:08:18
Speaker 1: Twist in the wind. Waiting to die for 41 years for a crime you didn't commit. I don't know how you stay. At what point do you not just give up and say this is never going to be proven? Robes' tooth. It's the worst thing in the world, man, when somebody thinks something about you that's not true and you can't convince them otherwise.
00:08:38
Speaker 3: Right.
00:08:38
Speaker 1: We've all been in that position. We've never been in that position with these stakes before.
00:08:41
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:08:42
Speaker 1: Robes, he's waiting to die for 40 years knowing he didn't commit a crime. Right. That's awful.
00:08:49
Speaker 2: Exactly. So, yes, in 2011, he's validated.
00:08:51
Speaker 3: In 2025... he gets a new trial. And as a part of this new trial, they ordered this DNA evidence to be tested finally. And when you hear the results, it really is jaw dropping. So this DNA analysis excludes Carter as a match to blood found on the doorknob and genetic material recovered from the handle of the knife that was used to stab Eva Olson. And so because of that, DNA exclusion. Even the prosecutors had to tell the judge at his bond hearing, yeah, we feel like it's fair and reasonable that he should be released on bond. That he should be able to leave prison for the first time in 41 years. And so, yes, he left this week. He actually got to be reunited with his son. And he's going to be staying close to his son. He's got a GPS monitor. Technically, he's not been exonerated. Technically, he's not off the hook. Technically, there's still a new trial potentially happening in 2027. just some legal wranglings but some more legal wrangling that's all before he's exonerated this.
00:10:05
Speaker 1: Is going to get dropped he's going to be exonerated and the evidence you have of that is that there is you're telling me that the state believes they have a violent criminal who committed a crime so bad that it was worthy of him being on death row But yeah, we're okay with him going home with just an ankle monitor. Obviously, you would never let that guy out of jail if you thought he was guilty of that crime. This will get taken care of, but it's important to do so while he's alive, while he's healthy, while his family can see it, and for his legacy. Some kid somewhere down the road growing up hearing about granddad. It's nice to hear that granddad was not a convicted murderer. He was exonerated of this bullshit. But let me tell you what your granddaddy had to endure. I mean, this is awful stuff. He's going to get paid out millions.
00:10:53
Speaker 3: He should get paid out millions. I mean, he was robbed of his life. He was robbed of getting to know his son. His own son didn't even know about his own father or his story for years because it was kept from him.
00:11:04
Speaker 2: He was, I believe, adopted.
00:11:07
Speaker 3: So he's just now getting to actually get to know his dad.
00:11:12
Speaker 1: This is not just a got it wrong. This was specific misconduct to set someone up. That is worthy of a ridiculous payout. This is not just they in good faith put on a case and they happened to be wrong and the jury got it wrong. Oh, no, no, no, no. This was intentional. Intentionally set this dude up.
00:11:35
Speaker 2: That is despicable and awful.
00:11:36
Speaker 1: Took his life from him.
00:11:39
Speaker 3: You never want to think that that's happening, but I imagine, babe, as a black man, you're laughing at me like that's spoken like a white woman.
00:11:46
Speaker 2: I mean, seriously. To think that it was just.
00:11:49
Speaker 3: Okay to pin this on the black guy who looked like he was running from something and probably would have done something to somebody sometime, so we'll just go ahead and pin this murder on him because he's that guy. And just to be cast in that light, in that shade, basically, to be that much of a throwaway to another person who's supposed to be upholding the law, a prosecutor, police officers, they're supposed to keep us safe, they're supposed to protect us, They're supposed to protect everyone. And just to think that this took place is awful and gutting. And yes, he needs to have some sort of reparation.
00:12:28
Speaker 2: I don't know what it is.
00:12:29
Speaker 3: There's nothing that can bring him back the time he lost. But he does deserve something for this atrocity.
00:12:35
Speaker 1: 30 years he had spent on this earth. And in the next 41, he spent on death row. Because someone wanted to give cash and prizes to a witness just to get this guy convicted. That's just, that's to take somebody's life. Robes, at some point, kill him, execute him. I mean, you took his life from him. I don't know how you make up for that. I would love to hear, and Robes, we've heard stories of exonerations before, people just being so blessed to be out and Grateful that we hear how they were able to keep it together for all those years. I don't know how you do that mentally. They've already mentioned his attorney. He is going to need therapy.
00:13:16
Speaker 2: Yes, that is a note. He said he is suffering, yes, PTSD. That's an understatement.
00:13:21
Speaker 1: Oh, my God.
00:13:22
Speaker 2: Understatement. But when we come back.
00:13:24
Speaker 3: We're going to tell you about who the other suspect was in this murder and what Eva Olson's family has to say about Carter's release. Welcome back, everyone, to Amy and TJ. So, yes, while Carter paid the price for a murder he did not commit, there was another suspect before police and this prosecutor set their sights on Carter, the husband.
00:13:58
Speaker 2: Ain't that usually the.
00:14:01
Speaker 3: First suspect and the person that most detectives thoroughly investigate before they even seek out a random stranger or a possible burglary gone wrong. We know, and they know, most violent crimes and a stabbing would be described as a very intimate violent crime tends to be at the hands of someone who purports to love you.
00:14:24
Speaker 1: The first suspect, Robes, is going to be the loved one, the spouse. The other first suspect is the first person to find the dead person. oftentimes the other first suspect is the person that calls it in. He was all of that.
00:14:39
Speaker 2: He was.
00:14:39
Speaker 3: Orla Olson was the husband of Eva Olson. And he was a painting contractor. He told police he found his wife dead in their home. He claimed she was partially undressed with her hands tied behind her back. However, there's never been a claim that there was a rape.
00:14:58
Speaker 2: Or any sort of sexual assault that took place.
00:15:01
Speaker 3: And again, the DNA in the room, the blood evidence, completely exonerates Carter. Now, could it implicate the husband? Don't know if we'll ever find out because he died. He died in 2009. And Carter's defense attorneys say there were witnesses that saw a white man fleeing the crime scene, not a black man. And his defense attorney claims investigators absolutely suppressed evidence that pointed to the husband in this case. So Look, don't know if they're going to take that DNA evidence, if they have a way to try and connect it to anyone, but certainly I would hope they would. To further exonerate Carter to know actually who did kill Eva Olsen would be good for everybody.
00:15:45
Speaker 1: I mean, can they subpoena for the DNA of the husband or some other family member? They can't make a family member submit, I guess, but yeah.
00:15:57
Speaker 2: Wouldn't you want to know, though, if you were a family member?
00:16:00
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't want to know if my family member was a murderer.
00:16:03
Speaker 2: That is true.
00:16:04
Speaker 3: And so to that point, Eva Olson's family did have a pretty strong reaction to Carter's release. In fact, Teresa Olson, that's the daughter-in-law of Eva. She was actually at his bond hearing when he was released. And her quote was that her family has serious concerns.
00:16:19
Speaker 2: About his release.
00:16:20
Speaker 3: They want him behind bars pending a new trial. But we hate to break it to you, Teresa. We don't think there's going to actually be a new trial. Her quote, by golly, we were hoping for a concrete match. It doesn't mean he wasn't there. There are other factors and hopefully the investigation will continue. We just want justice for Eva. And if he had any part of it, we want that to be known. Look, that's understandable. But to that point, I would think they would want that DNA compared to anyone and everyone it could possibly implicate to truly know who killed Eva, to truly put justice in its correct place, at least in the history books with this one.
00:17:00
Speaker 1: You don't think the family ever had any suspicion, ever had any question, never had any discussion over the past 40 years about Orla, about the husband? I don't know, Rob, but they too have waited. If they have put this to bed in their own minds, in their hearts, if you will, and just waiting on an execution day, you're telling me for the past 40 years, we don't know who killed our loved one. Rob, that's torturous for them as well.
00:17:24
Speaker 3: It is.
00:17:24
Speaker 1: That's not right. As well, Robes, for what the police did to that family. Robes, there's a killer. No one has ever been brought to justice. The real killer has never been brought to justice for what happened to your loved ones. 40 years you've been sitting with the wrong feeling? That's awful.
00:17:41
Speaker 2: And that's a lot to process.
00:17:42
Speaker 3: Look, I'm not acting as if what they've gone through is in any way....
00:17:48
Speaker 2: Comparative to what Carter has gone through. Don't have to compare them.
00:17:51
Speaker 1: They're both awful.
00:17:51
Speaker 3: But certainly, yes, everyone has suffered in this. And look, you talked about why, if you are on the fence on the death penalty, just to hear this story, it's got to speak to you.
00:18:02
Speaker 2: And we know.
00:18:03
Speaker 3: According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the Innocence Project, at least 203 death row inmates have been exonerated since 1973 alone. And those are the ones we know about. Because if this man had been put to death, there would never have been a new trial ordered, obviously. There never would have been DNA testing done on the blood evidence from the crime scene. And we would never have known that he was actually an innocent man. So just to know that we've determined 203 death row inmates were innocent, Over the past 40 years, how many more did we not know about that went to their deaths innocent?
00:18:38
Speaker 1: That's 200 people our system determined should die that we later found out were literally, provably innocent and got out of prison. That's too many mistakes. The false confession part of all this. was jaw dropping. The Innocence Project does this. Robes, 30% of all exonerations, that involve DNA, right? So we see the science. We know. 30% involve false confessions. Robes, a third of people who have been convicted of crimes and got off, Robes, they confessed falsely, a third. Confessed falsely.
00:19:23
Speaker 2: That's a lot.
00:19:25
Speaker 1: And that number goes up to 60% when you talk about just murders.
00:19:29
Speaker 3: Wow.
00:19:30
Speaker 1: Involve false confessions, the exonerations, the robes. So the false confessions, it's amazing. We've watched plenty of true crime. No, we've watched plenty of actual cases, robes, where oftentimes those detectives, those police officers are taking a task for how they go about interrogating suspects. Robes, they talk about these things, go 16 plus hours. That's the average for most of these confessions, for these false confessions. 16 hours?
00:19:57
Speaker 2: You're just like, fine, I did it. Where do I sign?
00:20:00
Speaker 3: It's hard to imagine you would get to that point, but it's happened and it happens. And it's led to unfair convictions, and certainly in this case as well. So 71-year-old Douglas Carter, we hope you get some beautiful time with your family. We hope you get a lot of money from the state of Utah. And it just sucks what happened to him. Yes, and an apology. Wouldn't that be something? We rarely see that as well because everyone's so afraid of lawsuits. But just glad that Douglas Carter is finally a free man. And with that, everyone, we always appreciate you listening to us. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes.
00:20:38
Speaker 2: We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Wednesday, September 30th, and he spent 40 years on death row. Just walked out of prison this week. Yes, there might be a lot to celebrate, but there is a lot to be absolutely pissed about in this story. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Okay, finally, after 40 years of getting it right, bro, they just took this man's life. on death row for 40 years and now coming back and say, whoops, maybe he's not the guy.
00:00:34
Speaker 2: This is a hell of a story.
00:00:37
Speaker 3: And for anyone who believes in justice, you are going to be outraged when you hear what happened to this man.
00:00:44
Speaker 2: Yes, he is 71 years old now. Douglas Stewart Carter had a.
00:00:49
Speaker 3: Smile on his face when he left the courtroom this week, but my God, he has a lot to be upset about. He was convicted of killing a police chief's aunt. Again, 40 years ago, her name was Eva Olson. He has maintained his innocence from the beginning. However, he was convicted of And he unfortunately was coerced into providing a confession early on. And that, along with two witnesses, did him in.
00:01:22
Speaker 2: There was no.
00:01:23
Speaker 3: Physical evidence connecting him to this crime. And when you find out what happened to those two witnesses and then how long it took the justice system to slowly move its wheels to lead to this day where Carter was finally released.
00:01:40
Speaker 2: Your head's going to explode. I mean, it really is that outrageous.
00:01:44
Speaker 1: Well, Carter is, and yes, let's highlight the good news that finally after 40 years, and we need to highlight as well, Robes, over 40 years, we know a lot of death row inmates and a lot of death sentences get carried out in sometimes 20 years, in 30 years, certainly in 40. So we should all be looking at this and going, wow, what a relief, what a blessing that we didn't kill him. But Robes, we should be terrified at the fact that we got that close to killing Robes. What the state is now saying is all likelihood an innocent man. This was very, very close, and these are the exact mistakes, baby, we cannot make. This is, before you go to any moral objection, Robes, first and foremost, this is the problem with the death penalty, is because mistakes get made.
00:02:30
Speaker 2: Documented.
00:02:31
Speaker 1: Mistakes get made. We just can't make one, ever. Not one, not allowed. Not one. And we made one.
00:02:40
Speaker 2: And we made one.
00:02:40
Speaker 3: And we should say, thankfully, he was sentenced to death in the state of Utah. So, yes, in another state, if he had been sentenced to death in another state like Texas or Florida, South Carolina, some of the other heavy hitters.
00:02:55
Speaker 2: It might be too late.
00:02:56
Speaker 1: We'd never know. Yes. You're right.
00:02:58
Speaker 2: We wouldn't know.
00:02:58
Speaker 1: We wouldn't look into the case again.
00:03:00
Speaker 2: We wouldn't know.
00:03:01
Speaker 3: And the only reason why we do know is because he was given a new trial. It took a hell of a long time for him to get this new trial. But as a part of a new trial, he was allowed... to test DNA evidence in the case. It had never been tested before. And just days ago, the results from that DNA evidence excluded him from being at the crime scene.
00:03:27
Speaker 2: This is unbelievable.
00:03:30
Speaker 1: That's the thing, though. That ain't even it, right? We can still go back another 15 years where this dude should have been out because the only people who testified against him, who said they were witnesses of some kind... to what he did because he confessed to them. Well, we found these people 15 years ago who recanted their stories. So why has he been sitting in prison for the past 15 years?
00:03:52
Speaker 3: Legal wrangling, I believe, is the term that was used. Let's start from the beginning. So this all, this crime took place on February 27th, 1985. That's how long ago we're talking. And yes, Carter was living with his mom in Utah at the time. He left the state. He fled because he thought police might be looking at him for some other smaller crime and he just wanted to get out of Dodge. But that is what ultimately made him look guilty. Because look, that is not a good look when you're fleeing the state. There was a murder. You were near the area where this murder took place. You're a black man. She's a white woman. And now he's in a whole heap of trouble.
00:04:38
Speaker 1: And he killed the wrong white woman. Not that there would be a right one to kill, but he killed a white woman who was related to a member of law enforcement.
00:04:46
Speaker 3: Yes, the aunt of the police chief. And so when they finally got him or at least found him, they said they suspected that he killed her during a robbery, that this was a robbery attempt gone bad. Carter, eventually he was being interrogated for how long was it? Did they say how long this interrogation went? But ultimately he ended up signing a confession. while he was being interrogated by this Prova detective. Almost immediately, he said it was a false confession. He said he was being repeatedly threatened by police.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: He broke. He caved.
00:05:21
Speaker 3: He said, fine, I'll sign what you want me to sign. The reality is there was no physical evidence that linked him to the crime, and a jury convicted him based on that confession, and then just these two witnesses who came forward and testified at a trial said, saying he bragged about killing Olson.
00:05:41
Speaker 2: Literally, that was their only evidence against him.
00:05:44
Speaker 3: So he was convicted and sentenced to death, and his defense called no witnesses.
00:05:50
Speaker 2: He essentially had no defense.
00:05:52
Speaker 1: And again, to be clear here, the witnesses we're talking about, folks, were not witnesses to the crime. They didn't see him running out of a house, didn't see him hitting anybody, hurting anybody, carrying any stolen goods, nothing. The witnesses only say what he told them. So that's it, Robes, oftentimes hearsay, right? That testimony and what was the other piece of evidence?
00:06:17
Speaker 2: His confession.
00:06:17
Speaker 1: Oh, yes, the signed confession. That's a big deal, sent into prison, death row. He ended up getting a new trial just seven years later in 1992, Robes. Same result. Same results. Same thing, same evidence, conviction, death penalty. And that was it.
00:06:44
Speaker 2: OK, but then in 2011, there's a big break.
00:06:47
Speaker 3: So from 1985 to 2011, those two witnesses were tracked down in Mexico. They admitted that they were told to lie in court under oath and they were told to lie in court under oath.
00:07:04
Speaker 2: By police and a prosecutor.
00:07:06
Speaker 3: In fact, they say they were given cash and gifts by police who told them not to discuss the payments. Here's what you need to say when you take the stand. And he said that both the police, they both said the police and prosecutors threatened them and their son with deportation if they did not testify against Carter. Now, that isn't just what they said. The Utah Supreme Court said actually said that, yes, there were multiple instances of intentional misconduct by police and prosecutors.
00:07:42
Speaker 2: But guess how long it took the Utah Supreme Court to declare this?
00:07:46
Speaker 3: 14 years after these two, the only evidence against this man recanted their story, it still took 14 years for the Utah State Supreme Court to order a new trial for this man. And the only explanation is legal wrangling. You don't have a good lawyer. You don't have good representation. No one cares about you. You just, what, twist in the wind?
00:08:17
Speaker 2: It's horrific.
00:08:18
Speaker 1: Twist in the wind. Waiting to die for 41 years for a crime you didn't commit. I don't know how you stay. At what point do you not just give up and say this is never going to be proven? Robes' tooth. It's the worst thing in the world, man, when somebody thinks something about you that's not true and you can't convince them otherwise.
00:08:38
Speaker 3: Right.
00:08:38
Speaker 1: We've all been in that position. We've never been in that position with these stakes before.
00:08:41
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:08:42
Speaker 1: Robes, he's waiting to die for 40 years knowing he didn't commit a crime. Right. That's awful.
00:08:49
Speaker 2: Exactly. So, yes, in 2011, he's validated.
00:08:51
Speaker 3: In 2025... he gets a new trial. And as a part of this new trial, they ordered this DNA evidence to be tested finally. And when you hear the results, it really is jaw dropping. So this DNA analysis excludes Carter as a match to blood found on the doorknob and genetic material recovered from the handle of the knife that was used to stab Eva Olson. And so because of that, DNA exclusion. Even the prosecutors had to tell the judge at his bond hearing, yeah, we feel like it's fair and reasonable that he should be released on bond. That he should be able to leave prison for the first time in 41 years. And so, yes, he left this week. He actually got to be reunited with his son. And he's going to be staying close to his son. He's got a GPS monitor. Technically, he's not been exonerated. Technically, he's not off the hook. Technically, there's still a new trial potentially happening in 2027. just some legal wranglings but some more legal wrangling that's all before he's exonerated this.
00:10:05
Speaker 1: Is going to get dropped he's going to be exonerated and the evidence you have of that is that there is you're telling me that the state believes they have a violent criminal who committed a crime so bad that it was worthy of him being on death row But yeah, we're okay with him going home with just an ankle monitor. Obviously, you would never let that guy out of jail if you thought he was guilty of that crime. This will get taken care of, but it's important to do so while he's alive, while he's healthy, while his family can see it, and for his legacy. Some kid somewhere down the road growing up hearing about granddad. It's nice to hear that granddad was not a convicted murderer. He was exonerated of this bullshit. But let me tell you what your granddaddy had to endure. I mean, this is awful stuff. He's going to get paid out millions.
00:10:53
Speaker 3: He should get paid out millions. I mean, he was robbed of his life. He was robbed of getting to know his son. His own son didn't even know about his own father or his story for years because it was kept from him.
00:11:04
Speaker 2: He was, I believe, adopted.
00:11:07
Speaker 3: So he's just now getting to actually get to know his dad.
00:11:12
Speaker 1: This is not just a got it wrong. This was specific misconduct to set someone up. That is worthy of a ridiculous payout. This is not just they in good faith put on a case and they happened to be wrong and the jury got it wrong. Oh, no, no, no, no. This was intentional. Intentionally set this dude up.
00:11:35
Speaker 2: That is despicable and awful.
00:11:36
Speaker 1: Took his life from him.
00:11:39
Speaker 3: You never want to think that that's happening, but I imagine, babe, as a black man, you're laughing at me like that's spoken like a white woman.
00:11:46
Speaker 2: I mean, seriously. To think that it was just.
00:11:49
Speaker 3: Okay to pin this on the black guy who looked like he was running from something and probably would have done something to somebody sometime, so we'll just go ahead and pin this murder on him because he's that guy. And just to be cast in that light, in that shade, basically, to be that much of a throwaway to another person who's supposed to be upholding the law, a prosecutor, police officers, they're supposed to keep us safe, they're supposed to protect us, They're supposed to protect everyone. And just to think that this took place is awful and gutting. And yes, he needs to have some sort of reparation.
00:12:28
Speaker 2: I don't know what it is.
00:12:29
Speaker 3: There's nothing that can bring him back the time he lost. But he does deserve something for this atrocity.
00:12:35
Speaker 1: 30 years he had spent on this earth. And in the next 41, he spent on death row. Because someone wanted to give cash and prizes to a witness just to get this guy convicted. That's just, that's to take somebody's life. Robes, at some point, kill him, execute him. I mean, you took his life from him. I don't know how you make up for that. I would love to hear, and Robes, we've heard stories of exonerations before, people just being so blessed to be out and Grateful that we hear how they were able to keep it together for all those years. I don't know how you do that mentally. They've already mentioned his attorney. He is going to need therapy.
00:13:16
Speaker 2: Yes, that is a note. He said he is suffering, yes, PTSD. That's an understatement.
00:13:21
Speaker 1: Oh, my God.
00:13:22
Speaker 2: Understatement. But when we come back.
00:13:24
Speaker 3: We're going to tell you about who the other suspect was in this murder and what Eva Olson's family has to say about Carter's release. Welcome back, everyone, to Amy and TJ. So, yes, while Carter paid the price for a murder he did not commit, there was another suspect before police and this prosecutor set their sights on Carter, the husband.
00:13:58
Speaker 2: Ain't that usually the.
00:14:01
Speaker 3: First suspect and the person that most detectives thoroughly investigate before they even seek out a random stranger or a possible burglary gone wrong. We know, and they know, most violent crimes and a stabbing would be described as a very intimate violent crime tends to be at the hands of someone who purports to love you.
00:14:24
Speaker 1: The first suspect, Robes, is going to be the loved one, the spouse. The other first suspect is the first person to find the dead person. oftentimes the other first suspect is the person that calls it in. He was all of that.
00:14:39
Speaker 2: He was.
00:14:39
Speaker 3: Orla Olson was the husband of Eva Olson. And he was a painting contractor. He told police he found his wife dead in their home. He claimed she was partially undressed with her hands tied behind her back. However, there's never been a claim that there was a rape.
00:14:58
Speaker 2: Or any sort of sexual assault that took place.
00:15:01
Speaker 3: And again, the DNA in the room, the blood evidence, completely exonerates Carter. Now, could it implicate the husband? Don't know if we'll ever find out because he died. He died in 2009. And Carter's defense attorneys say there were witnesses that saw a white man fleeing the crime scene, not a black man. And his defense attorney claims investigators absolutely suppressed evidence that pointed to the husband in this case. So Look, don't know if they're going to take that DNA evidence, if they have a way to try and connect it to anyone, but certainly I would hope they would. To further exonerate Carter to know actually who did kill Eva Olsen would be good for everybody.
00:15:45
Speaker 1: I mean, can they subpoena for the DNA of the husband or some other family member? They can't make a family member submit, I guess, but yeah.
00:15:57
Speaker 2: Wouldn't you want to know, though, if you were a family member?
00:16:00
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't want to know if my family member was a murderer.
00:16:03
Speaker 2: That is true.
00:16:04
Speaker 3: And so to that point, Eva Olson's family did have a pretty strong reaction to Carter's release. In fact, Teresa Olson, that's the daughter-in-law of Eva. She was actually at his bond hearing when he was released. And her quote was that her family has serious concerns.
00:16:19
Speaker 2: About his release.
00:16:20
Speaker 3: They want him behind bars pending a new trial. But we hate to break it to you, Teresa. We don't think there's going to actually be a new trial. Her quote, by golly, we were hoping for a concrete match. It doesn't mean he wasn't there. There are other factors and hopefully the investigation will continue. We just want justice for Eva. And if he had any part of it, we want that to be known. Look, that's understandable. But to that point, I would think they would want that DNA compared to anyone and everyone it could possibly implicate to truly know who killed Eva, to truly put justice in its correct place, at least in the history books with this one.
00:17:00
Speaker 1: You don't think the family ever had any suspicion, ever had any question, never had any discussion over the past 40 years about Orla, about the husband? I don't know, Rob, but they too have waited. If they have put this to bed in their own minds, in their hearts, if you will, and just waiting on an execution day, you're telling me for the past 40 years, we don't know who killed our loved one. Rob, that's torturous for them as well.
00:17:24
Speaker 3: It is.
00:17:24
Speaker 1: That's not right. As well, Robes, for what the police did to that family. Robes, there's a killer. No one has ever been brought to justice. The real killer has never been brought to justice for what happened to your loved ones. 40 years you've been sitting with the wrong feeling? That's awful.
00:17:41
Speaker 2: And that's a lot to process.
00:17:42
Speaker 3: Look, I'm not acting as if what they've gone through is in any way....
00:17:48
Speaker 2: Comparative to what Carter has gone through. Don't have to compare them.
00:17:51
Speaker 1: They're both awful.
00:17:51
Speaker 3: But certainly, yes, everyone has suffered in this. And look, you talked about why, if you are on the fence on the death penalty, just to hear this story, it's got to speak to you.
00:18:02
Speaker 2: And we know.
00:18:03
Speaker 3: According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the Innocence Project, at least 203 death row inmates have been exonerated since 1973 alone. And those are the ones we know about. Because if this man had been put to death, there would never have been a new trial ordered, obviously. There never would have been DNA testing done on the blood evidence from the crime scene. And we would never have known that he was actually an innocent man. So just to know that we've determined 203 death row inmates were innocent, Over the past 40 years, how many more did we not know about that went to their deaths innocent?
00:18:38
Speaker 1: That's 200 people our system determined should die that we later found out were literally, provably innocent and got out of prison. That's too many mistakes. The false confession part of all this. was jaw dropping. The Innocence Project does this. Robes, 30% of all exonerations, that involve DNA, right? So we see the science. We know. 30% involve false confessions. Robes, a third of people who have been convicted of crimes and got off, Robes, they confessed falsely, a third. Confessed falsely.
00:19:23
Speaker 2: That's a lot.
00:19:25
Speaker 1: And that number goes up to 60% when you talk about just murders.
00:19:29
Speaker 3: Wow.
00:19:30
Speaker 1: Involve false confessions, the exonerations, the robes. So the false confessions, it's amazing. We've watched plenty of true crime. No, we've watched plenty of actual cases, robes, where oftentimes those detectives, those police officers are taking a task for how they go about interrogating suspects. Robes, they talk about these things, go 16 plus hours. That's the average for most of these confessions, for these false confessions. 16 hours?
00:19:57
Speaker 2: You're just like, fine, I did it. Where do I sign?
00:20:00
Speaker 3: It's hard to imagine you would get to that point, but it's happened and it happens. And it's led to unfair convictions, and certainly in this case as well. So 71-year-old Douglas Carter, we hope you get some beautiful time with your family. We hope you get a lot of money from the state of Utah. And it just sucks what happened to him. Yes, and an apology. Wouldn't that be something? We rarely see that as well because everyone's so afraid of lawsuits. But just glad that Douglas Carter is finally a free man. And with that, everyone, we always appreciate you listening to us. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes.
00:20:38
Speaker 2: We'll talk to you soon.