Crime & Justice
CROSS-SPECTRUM
Utah prosecutors abandon execution bid after DNA excludes death-row inmate
Prosecutors in Utah have halted plans to execute Douglas Carter after DNA testing showed no match to the 1985 murder scene.
After more than four decades on death row for a 1985 killing, Douglas Carter will no longer face execution as DNA evidence failed to link him to the crime. The aggravated murder charge remains open, but officials are urging a new bail hearing while they reassess the case. Carter's death sentence was previously overturned in 2025.
Why it matters
It shows how new DNA evidence can overturn decades-old death-penalty convictions.
In this story
death rowDNA evidenceaggravated murderbail hearingUtah prosecutorsconviction overturn1985 murder
