The city of Boston issued a formal apology on Wednesday to two Black men who had been falsely linked to the death of Carol Stuart, a 30-year-old pregnant woman who was shot in 1989, in one of the most famous cases in the city’s history that spotlighted its racial disparities.
Alan Swanson and Willie Bennett were publicly and falsely named by news outlets as suspects in the murder, but they were never formally charged.
Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, made the apology at a news conference, on the heels of an extensive investigation by The Boston Globe published this month and a related HBO documentary series detailing how Boston’s history of racism led to the botched investigation.
“We are here today to acknowledge the tremendous pain that the city of Boston inflicted on Black residents throughout our neighborhoods 34 years ago,” Ms. Wu said. “The mayor’s office, city officials and the Boston Police Department took actions that directly harmed these families and continue to impact the larger community, reopening a wound that has gone untended for decades.”
Mr. Swanson and members of Mr. Bennett’s family attended the news conference.
“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 endured,” Ms. Wu said. “What was done to you was unjust, unfair, racist and wrong.”
On the night of Oct. 23, 1989, Charles Stuart, who was white, called the police from his car phone to say that he and his pregnant wife, Carol, had been shot. Mr. Stuart survived a gunshot wound to the chest, but his wife died, as did their prematurely born son 17 days later.
Mr. Stuart told the police that a Black man wearing a black track suit had carjacked them after a birthing class, forcing the two to drive through Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood “to an abandoned area.”
The report led to an intensive manhunt. Within days, Mr. Swanson, then 29 and homeless, was arrested. The police found a black tracksuit in a sink at the Mission Hill apartment where he was taken into custody. The authorities charged Mr. Swanson with burglary but ultimately released him, as there was no physical evidence tying him to the murder.
Soon, the police turned their focus to Mr. Bennett, based on affidavits given by teenagers who later said the police had coerced them into giving such statements. Mr. Bennett, who had a lengthy criminal record, was arrested in connection with an unrelated matter and was subsequently charged with robbing a video store.
Mr. Stuart later identified Mr. Bennett out of a police lineup.
Within days, though, the story was revealed to be a lie. Matthew Stuart, Mr. Stuart’s youngest brother, told the police that it actually had been Charles who planned the murder as part of a staged robbery. Matthew admitted to police that he had helped dispose of his brother’s gun.
Mr. Bennett was exonerated for the murder but was imprisoned for 12 years for the video store robbery, which he has said he did not commit.
Charles Stuart later died by suicide, while his brother pleaded guilty to criminal charges, including conspiracy and insurance fraud, and went to prison for three years.
City officials and the police were heavily criticized for their handling of the case, as was the news media, which had pushed the narrative that the wrongly accused suspects were guilty. The Bennett family sued the city of Boston but was able to secure only $12,500 in settlements.
“There was no evidence that a Black man had committed this crime,” Ms. Wu said on Wednesday, “but that didn’t matter because the story was one that confirmed and exposed the beliefs that so many shared from residents and reporters to officers and officials. At every level and at every opportunity, those in power closed their eyes to the truth because the lie felt familiar.”
Joey Bennett, a nephew of Mr. Bennett’s, was present at the news conference on Wednesday. Willie Bennett did not appear. Now 73, he is infirm and has not spoken publicly about the case in years, according to The Globe.
“We just want to express our gratitude to Mayor Wu for the apology,” Joey Bennett said. “Her courage in acknowledging the wrongdoings of the Boston police and offering a sincere apology is something we deeply respect and appreciate.
“Your apology is accepted,” he added.
He also acknowledged Mr. Swanson in his remarks.
“So he is a friend of the family and we chose to have him stand with us in solidarity so he can get his apology with us,” Mr. Bennett said “He was wronged. He hasn’t been right since that case.”
Mr. Swanson did not address reporters at the news conference, but later told The Associated Press that while he was “glad this is happening today,” he was still facing financial ruin.
“I just need some financial compensation for all the trouble and pain I’m still going through,” he said.