Boston Pays $150K To Willie Bennett and Alan Swanson Who Were Falsely Accused in 1989 Stuart Murder Case
- ural49
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
In 1989, the city of Boston targeted two Black men, Willie Bennett and Alan Swanson, in one of its most notorious miscarriages of justice. Both were falsely accused in the killing of Carol Stuart, a pregnant white woman. Her husband, Charles Stuart, orchestrated the murder and framed an imaginary Black assailant, a lie that the police embraced without hesitation. Decades later, Boston has agreed to pay a combined $150,000 to Bennett and Swanson—$100,000 for Bennett and $50,000 for Swanson—as part of a settlement that requires them to withdraw a lawsuit. For abolitionists, the case is a reminder that the harm inflicted by policing is not a glitch but a feature of a system built to criminalize and control Black lives.
Mayor Michelle Wu acknowledged the city’s role in compounding racial trauma, stating, “I hope that after so many years of bearing the burden and the stigma and just all of the emotional and economic impacts of what happened that we’re starting to finally feel a sense of redress and repair.” But many see the payout as paltry compared to the devastation wrought. Former public defender Leslie Harris, who represented Swanson, called it “a token, not a settlement,” adding, “It’s not much money. It won’t change any of their lives. After taxes, it won’t be anything.”
The events reveal the destructive mechanics of criminalization. Police arrested Swanson, a homeless Black man, after an intense manhunt, even though there was no physical evidence. They later turned to Bennett, coercing teenagers into implicating him and placing him in a lineup that Charles Stuart manipulated. Stuart’s lie unraveled only when his own brother admitted to helping cover up the murder. Yet Bennett still served 12 years in prison for a separate robbery charge he insisted he didn’t commit, showing how easily the system manufactures guilt.
Wu’s 2023 apology was clear: “We are here today to acknowledge the tremendous pain that the city of Boston inflicted on Black residents throughout our neighborhoods 34 years ago.” For communities seeking abolition, the Stuart case is proof that policing doesn’t keep people safe—it destroys lives. As long as such systems exist, they will continue to sacrifice Black people to preserve white innocence and power.