Boston has agreed to a $150,000 settlement with Alan Swanson and Willie Bennett, two Black men who were wrongly accused in the high-profile 1989 murder of Carol Stuart.
The settlement provides $100,000 to Bennett and $50,000 to Swanson. It comes over three decades after the men were publicly targeted and their lives upended by a racist and flawed police investigation.
The infamous case began in October 1989 when Charles Stuart, a white man, called 911 claiming he and his pregnant wife, Carol, had been shot by a Black man during a carjacking. Carol died the following day, and their baby, delivered by C-section, died 17 days later.
Fabricated story ignited search for Black men in Boston
Charles Stuart’s fabricated story of a Black assailant ignited a city-wide manhunt that racially profiled and targeted Black men. It was particularly in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood.
Police reportedly conducted widespread “stop-and-frisk” operations. The media fanned the flames of racial hysteria, portraying the case as a symbol of “Black-on-white” crime.
In the ensuing investigation, police focused on Alan Swanson, arresting him and holding him for three weeks. He was later released, but the spotlight then shifted to Willie Bennett. Charles Stuart identified Bennett in a police lineup, and Bennett was publicly named a suspect. Neither man was ever formally charged in the murder.
The truth began to unravel months later when Charles Stuart’s own brother revealed that Charles had been the real killer. He had reportedly shot his wife to collect life insurance money. As police closed in on him, Charles Stuart committed suicide by jumping off the Tobin Bridge in Boston.
Boston’s Black community wounded by false claims
The Stuart case, and the wrongful targeting of Swanson and Bennett, left a lasting wound on Boston’s Black community. The incident became a defining moment that exacerbated distrust between the community and the Boston Police Department.
For years, Swanson and Bennett spoke about the public scrutiny, death threats, and lasting trauma they endured.
In a step toward healing, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued a formal apology to Swanson and Bennett in December 2023. She also acknowledged the city’s wrongdoing.
The apology was a rare admission of institutional racism. It was also a long overdue act of recognition for the harm inflicted upon the men and the community.
While the $150,000 settlement cannot fully compensate for the decades of pain and injustice, it represents a tangible effort to make amends. For Alan Swanson, who has spoken about the case’s impact on his life and his struggles with homelessness, the settlement is a step toward moving forward.
For both men and the city of Boston, this resolution closes a painful chapter, serving as a reminder of the devastating consequences of racial bias in the justice system.