{"id":28681,"date":"2022-02-11T23:58:11","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T23:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=28681"},"modified":"2022-02-11T23:58:11","modified_gmt":"2022-02-11T23:58:11","slug":"utah-death-penalty-repeal-questions-raised-in-case-of-death-row-inmate-douglas-carter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/11\/utah-death-penalty-repeal-questions-raised-in-case-of-death-row-inmate-douglas-carter\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah death penalty repeal: Questions raised in case of death row inmate Douglas Carter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The latest filings in a new hearing for one of Utah\u2019s death row inmates is raising concerns and stirring debate on Utah\u2019s Capitol Hill as lawmakers consider whether to do away with the state\u2019s death penalty. <\/p>\n

While some Republican supporters of Utah\u2019s capital punishment have said they have confidence in Utah\u2019s justice system \u2014 contending the Beehive State has not seen the same issues other states have had with the death penalty \u2014 the penalty\u2019s detractors say the case\u2019s latest filings indicate Utah is not immune to problems with the finality of a death sentence, especially when new revelations surface sometimes decades later. <\/p>\n

Among those alleged revelations that are causing concern in this case? Douglas Stewart Carter, who is Black, was convicted and sentenced using testimony from star witnesses who his defense attorneys say were threatened, paid thousands of dollars and told to lie by the Provo Police Department in the 1980s. Almost three years ago, the Utah Supreme Court ordered that Carter receive a new evidence hearing in 4th District Court<\/a>, pointing to \u201cdamning revelations\u201d from those witnesses.<\/p>\n

Carter, 66, is among the seven men currently sitting on Utah\u2019s death row<\/a>. He\u2019s been there for 35 years after he was convicted of aggravated murder for stabbing and shooting a Provo grandmother, 57-year-old Eva Olesen, who was also the aunt of a former Provo police chief. <\/p>\n

Late last month Carter\u2019s defense team submitted its post-hearing brief to the court asking that his conviction be thrown out \u2014 or at least his death sentence overturned. The Utah Attorney General\u2019s Office has until mid-March to respond. <\/p>\n

Case \u2018strikes at the heart\u2019 of Utah\u2019s death penalty debate<\/h3>\n

Connor Boyack, president of the Utah-based libertarian think tank Libertas Institute \u2014 which is among the organizations backing the repeal and replace effort \u2014 told the Deseret News the latest filing in the Carter case raises concerning questions about Carter\u2019s conviction and death sentence. <\/p>\n

While the case is still playing out in court, Boyack said it \u201cstrikes right at the heart of the issue\u201d of the finality of the death penalty, \u201cin showing that we should never foreclose the opportunity for new revelations to come to light that might exonerate someone who was actually innocent \u2014 or even if they\u2019re not innocent\u201d since the case may ultimately not result in the factors needed to justify a death penalty.<\/p>\n

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Connor Boyack, president of the Utah-based libertarian think tank Libertas Institute, speaks at a press conference at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Oct. 4, 2018.<\/figcaption>Kristin Murphy, Deseret News<\/cite><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Carter brief in particular,\u201d Boyack said, \u201cfor pages and pages it says, \u2018Here\u2019s all these new revelations,\u2019 and had a jury known about this or about this or about this, then it\u2019s possible \u2014 I would argue likely \u2014 that at least one juror would have voted for life (in prison rather than the death penalty) had they known that.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why we\u2019re going to be talking a lot about this case,\u201d Boyack said. \u201cBecause it\u2019s the permanence of the death penalty that prevents those new revelations from coming to light.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible that evidence and arguments brought forth by Carter\u2019s defense attorneys could ultimately show Utah got Carter\u2019s sentence \u2014 and possibly his conviction \u2014 wrong, Boyack said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019ve worked on this issue over the years, the attorney general\u2019s office has long claimed, and many have believed, that Utah is somehow immune from the problems experienced in other states with the criminal justice and the death penalty specifically,\u201d Boyack said. \u201cThat claim being, \u2018We don\u2019t have any innocent people (on death row), Utah does it right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyack pointed out that 18 individuals have been exonerated in Utah<\/a>. Though not capital cases, that alone shows \u201cclearly there are issues with innocent people being convicted of crimes they did not commit.\u201d<\/p>\n