The city of Boston will be paying $150,000 in settlement money to two men who were wrongly accused in a 1989 murder case.
Announced on Tuesday, Willie Bennett was reportedly paid $100,000 while Alan Swanson received $50,000. Both men were wrongfully accused of the murder of 30-year-old Carol Stuart. While neither of the men was officially charged, both were arrested. Before Bennett was wrongfully identified as a suspect, Swanson was also taken into arrest before police ruled him out.
The settlement money comes over two years after Mayor Michelle Wu offered a formal apology to them.
“On behalf of the Boston Police Department, the Mayor’s office and the entire city of Boston, I want to say to Mr. Swanson and Mr. Bennett – the entire Bennett family and Boston’s entire Black community- I am so sorry for what you had to endure,” said Mayor Wu in a press conference. “I am so sorry for the pain that you have carried for so many years. What was done to you was unjust, unfair, racist and wrong.”
Charles Stuart, the husband of Carol, wrongfully implicated both Bennett and Swanson, falsely claiming that a Black man had carjacked the couple’s car and shot both him and Carol.
On Oct. 23, he alleged that, while they were both coming home from childbirth classes, a Black man forced his way into their Toyota, ordering them to drive to Mission Hill. While there, in the predominantly Black neighborhood, Charles alleged they were robbed before he was shot in the stomach and Carol was shot in the head. While Carol died the next day, their baby died 17 days later after being delivered by cesarean section.
The murder led to intensified stop & searches amongst Black Boston citizens, building on increasing racial tensions in the city. The case for Carol’s murder also led to extensive media coverage, claiming it was a case of “Black-on-white crime” and stoking mass violence towards Black communities.
Months after the murder, however, in January 1990, Charles’ younger brother, Matthew, revealed his brother was responsible for the murder. Before he could be arrested, Charles took his own life.
In an exclusive interview held with WBZ-TV in 2017, Bennett first spoke about the case, saying he could not forget about what happened due to his name being linked to Charles.
“I ain’t got nothing to say about that man. He did what he did and now he’s gone,” said Bennett. “I’ll see him in hell. If there is a hell.”
