By McKenzie Romero | Editor
After two key witnesses came forward saying police alternately threatened them with deportation and gave them gifts, new testing excluded him from DNA collected at the crime scene, and 41 years passed behind bars, Douglas Carter walked out of jail.
The now-71-year-old Carter, jailed when he was 30 and sentenced to die for the murder of Eva Olesen, has been granted bail while prosecutors, who have now taken the death penalty off the table, still have a retrial scheduled.
In today’s Dispatch we share the moment Carter was released — for now, Rep. Trevor Lee’s immediate resignation from the Utah Legislature as he faces fraud charges, and a campaign against lawmakers’ proposed constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot.
“This is going to be not just a day at a time, but minute-by-minute at a time.” — Neal Hamilton, a defense attorney representing Douglas Carter, about his client adjusting to life after being granted bail following decades behind bars and on death row.
Douglas Carter leaves the Utah County Jail without comment on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (Annie Knox/Utah News Dispatch)
By Annie Knox
For most of his life, Douglas Stewart Carter has been confined to a Utah prison cell. As he strode out of the Utah County Jail, he smiled and pushed a cart full of belongings he amassed over 40 years in state custody — a pillow and boxes of legal documents charting his efforts to prove he’s not guilty of murdering a Provo grandmother in her home in 1985.
New information in the case does not necessarily exonerate Carter, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray wrote in a court filing. He noted the gun used in the crime was never found and said Carter had confessed. He still faces a charge of aggravated murder and is scheduled for a retrial in July, though prosecutors withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty.
Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, is pictured on the House floor at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the final night of the legislative session, Friday, March 6, 2026. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Alixel Cabrera
Trevor Lee, a Republican representative from Layton and one of the most controversial figures in the Utah Legislature, has resigned after prosecutors filed four felony charges accusing him of forging employment documents to obtain a $1 million home loan.
The investigation backs up claims against Lee that were publicized by two of his former bosses just before the Davis County Republican Party Nominating Convention earlier this year as they called on voters not to reelect him. Lee lost his primary election, and a special election will now be held to fill his seat through the end of his term.
The Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
A political issues committee launched a campaign urging Utah voters to reject Amendment B, a proposed constitutional amendment on their Nov. 3 ballot that would set a higher bar for ballot initiatives that raise taxes.
Proponents — including the Utah Taxpayers Association — have argued requiring ballot initiatives that impact taxes to pass not just by a simple majority, but get at least 60% voter support would help protect taxpayer money. But to critics, including the group Utahns Protecting Our Constitution, the change is unnecessary and would weaken citizens’ ability to hold government accountable.
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