A lower court ruled earlier that Douglas Stewart Carter’s constitutional rights had been violated.
(Fox 13) The Utah Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for condemned killer Douglas Stewart Carter.
The Utah Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for condemned killer Douglas Stewart Carter.
In a unanimous ruling, the state’s top court sided with a lower-court judge who ruled Carter’s constitutional rights had been violated. It was the Utah Attorney General’s Office who appealed to the Court. Carter was convicted and sentenced to die for the 1985 murder of Eva Olesen in Provo. Carter’s lawyers had accused prosecutors in his original trial of misconduct by failing to disclose financial payments to witnesses or that police had threatened those witnesses.
“The State appeals the postconviction court’s order. It is important to note that, for the most part, the State does not challenge the court’s factual findings. Further, the State does not dispute that it wrongfully suppressed exculpatory evidence and that the prosecutor knowingly failed to correct at least one instance of false testimony. Rather, the State argues that the postconviction court used an incorrect legal standard in part of its prejudice analysis, and that overall, these constitutional violations did not prejudice Carter under the applicable [Post Conviction Relief Act] standards,” Justice Paige Petersen wrote in the opinion.
“We agree with the State that part of the postconviction court’s prejudice analysis relied on an incorrect legal standard. However, applying the correct legal standard, 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.”
The ruling means Carter will get a new trial. He has argued that in addition to police and prosecutorial misconduct, his own confession was coerced.
To read the full story, visit Fox13Now.com.
The Salt Lake Tribune and Fox 13 are content-sharing partners.