Boston settles with two men wrongly accused in 1989 killing
City awards $150,000 to Black men cleared in the Carol Stuart case years after a formal apology from the mayor
Two Black men wrongly accused in the 1989 killing of Carol Stuart, a pregnant Boston woman, have received a $150,000 settlement from the city, two years after Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued a formal apology. Willie Bennett will receive $100,000 from the settlement and Alan Swanson $50,000, city officials said Tuesday.
Carol Stuart was killed in 1989 as she and her husband left a birthing class; investigators later determined that her husband, Charles Stuart, orchestrated the killing. The couple’s baby was delivered by cesarean section 17 days later. Police initially arrested Swanson, then Bennett, before investigators ruled them out as suspects. Charles Stuart later identified Bennett as the suspect, but neither man was charged in the case. Charles Stuart, who was white, died months later after jumping from a bridge as his deception unraveled. The case drew national attention and contributed to a police crackdown in Boston’s Black neighborhoods, heightening racial tensions at the time.
In 2023, Wu apologized for the pain endured by the two men and for the harm the case caused to Boston’s Black community. The settlement announced this week is described by city officials as a resolution of civil claims; it does not constitute an admission of fault by the city.
Officials stressed that the payments are a form of redress for the men’s years-long suffering and the reputational harm that followed them through the investigation and public handling of the case. The city noted that the funds come from its budget and are intended to acknowledge the missteps and prejudice that occurred more than a generation ago, while the broader questions about policing and accountability in the era remain part of ongoing public discussion.
The Carol Stuart murder case remains a turning point in Boston’s history, illustrating how a high-profile investigation can expose racial fault lines and provoke reforms in law enforcement practices. While the settlement closes a legal chapter for Bennett and Swanson, the episode continues to influence dialogue about justice, accountability, and the long arc of reconciliation in the city’s political and civic life.