SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court is considering whether to reinstate the murder and death sentence of Douglas Stewart Carter.
On Friday, the state's top court heard arguments in the case. A lower court judge vacated Carter's conviction and sentence. The state is seeking to reverse that.
"The district court used an incorrect standard to come to an incorrect conclusion. It's ruling and order vacating Carter’s murder conviction and sentence cannot stand," argued assistant Utah Attorney General Daniel Day.
Carter was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of Eva Olesen. Carter challenged his conviction, arguing that Provo police bribed witnesses and his own confession had been coerced. Police at that time claimed that any funds used for a pair of key witnesses were for their protection.
In 2019, the Utah Supreme Court sent Carter's case to a lower court, finding problems with how police and prosecutors handled the case. In 2022, 4th District Court Judge Derek Pullan vacated the death sentence ruling that failures to disclose false testimony, financial benefits and other threats gave a "reasonable probability" there could be a different outcome and undermine confidence in the original jury verdict against Carter.
The panel of judges hearing the case (three Utah Supreme Court justices recused themselves from hearing it) quizzed lawyers for both sides about case law governing fair trials and whether they can focus on what a jury in 1985 might have considered versus a jury in 2024. Day argued that Carter's confession should stand and witnesses still maintain their belief Carter killed Olesen.
Carter's attorney, Eric Zuckerman, argued that the lower court's ruling ought to stand given the problems with the original case.
"The entirety of police investigation is undermined in this case. That’s because the conduct was so egregious. That’s what the district court’s finding support. They did so much wrong in this case," he told the Court.
The Utah Supreme Court took the case under advisement with no timeline for a ruling. Carter remains incarcerated because the case is under appeal.
