In the United States, Douglas Carter released on bail after 41 years on death row

According to BBC Afrique, 71-year-old African American Douglas Stewart Carter has been released on bail after spending 41 years on death row in the state of Utah, United States. Convicted for the murder of Eva Olesen, which occurred in February 1985 in Provo, he has always maintained his innocence, claiming that his initial confession was coerced by the police. His release follows new DNA analyses that formally exclude him from the genetic traces found at the crime scene.

The case is rooted in multiple failures of the American justice system. Last year, the Utah Supreme Court overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial due to professional misconduct committed by investigators. According to defense attorneys, witnesses had seen a white man fleeing the scene in 1985. Furthermore, two key witnesses confessed in 2011 that they had been paid, threatened with deportation, and forced by law enforcement to provide false testimony against Douglas Carter.

Recent genetic testing performed on the knife handle and blood from a door handle has definitively ruled out Douglas Carter's profile. Despite opposition from the victim's family, who demanded he remain in custody, the judge ordered his release on the condition that he wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. His lawyers are now calling for all charges to be dropped against the man who came close to capital execution.

Our perspective

This tragedy illustrates the systemic flaws and racial biases that affect African Americans within the United States judicial system. The deprivation of liberty suffered by Douglas Carter for four decades highlights the vital importance of defending human rights and the dignity of people of African descent in the face of judicial arbitrariness and irreparable errors.