Boston to Pay Settlement to Two Black Men Wrongfully Accused in Infamous Murder Case
Written by b87fm on 09/25/2025
Two Black men who were falsely accused in one of Boston’s most infamous murder cases are finally receiving restitution—more than 30 years later.
Alan Swanson and Willie Bennett, who were both wrongfully linked to the 1989 killing of Carol Stuart, will receive a combined $150,000 settlement from the City of Boston. The announcement comes two years after Mayor Michelle Wu issued a formal apology for the trauma they endured.
Bennett will receive $100,000, while Swanson will receive $50,000. City officials confirmed the payments Tuesday, framing them as part of Boston’s ongoing effort to acknowledge and repair the harm done to its Black community.
The case shook the city to its core. Carol Stuart, a pregnant white woman, was fatally shot in the head after leaving a birthing class with her husband, Charles Stuart. Their baby, delivered by emergency C-section, survived for 17 days before passing away.
Charles Stuart told police that a Black man had carjacked the couple and opened fire. Authorities quickly targeted Boston’s Black neighborhoods, arresting Swanson first and later detaining Bennett after Charles falsely identified him as the shooter. Neither man was ever charged.
Months later, the truth unraveled: Charles Stuart had orchestrated the murder of his wife. As the investigation turned toward him, he died by suicide.
The fallout left deep scars across Boston, especially in Black neighborhoods where police crackdowns intensified in the wake of Stuart’s lies.
In 2023, Mayor Wu issued a public apology, saying:
“What was done to you was unjust, unfair, racist, and wrong.”
For Swanson and Bennett, the settlement represents a long-overdue acknowledgment of the pain they suffered and a step toward justice in one of Boston’s darkest chapters.
