Boston pays $150K to two men wrongfully tied to Carol Stuart murder

"During an emotional press conference officials convened in 2023 to issue the apologies, Wu decried how a "systemic campaign" targeted Black men based on a "false, racist claim" in the case of Carol Stuart. The Stuart case, which was chronicled in a lengthy investigation by The Boston Globe before Wu's apologies, shone a light on the racial prejudices that shaped policing and media bias in Boston."

"On the evening of Oct. 23, 1989, Charles Stuart shot his wife in their car after a birthing class. When police interviewed him, he blamed the crime on an unidentified Black man in a tracksuit. The subsequent investigation was marked by nonstop media coverage, a massive manhunt, and controversial stop-and-frisk tactics. Two Black men, Bennett and Swanson, were each arrested under suspicion that they were tied to the murder."

"The city of Boston recently paid a total of $150,000 to two men who were wrongfully accused of killing a pregnant woman, Carol Stuart, in 1989. The payments come more than a year-and-a-half after Mayor Michelle Wu issued formal apologies to the two men, Willie Bennett and Alan Swanson. Bennett received a payment of $100,000, and Swanson received $50,000, according to City Hall officials. They did not provide any more details about the settlement."

The city of Boston paid $150,000 to Willie Bennett and Alan Swanson after they were wrongfully accused in the 1989 killing of Carol Stuart. Bennett received $100,000 and Swanson $50,000 following formal apologies from Mayor Michelle Wu issued in 2023. Charles Stuart shot his wife after a birthing class and falsely blamed an unidentified Black man, triggering nonstop media coverage, a massive manhunt, and controversial stop-and-frisk tactics. Bennett and Swanson were arrested and publicly identified as suspects despite not being formally charged. Charles Stuart died by suicide on Jan. 4, 1990. A Boston Globe investigation detailed racial prejudices shaping the case, and Bennett's family and Swanson attended the 2023 apology ceremony.

Read at Boston.com