Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to Apologize for Wrongful Arrests in Decades-Old Murder Case

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is set to issue an apology to two men over the city’s actions during a decades-old murder case that fueled racial tensions in the city.

Wrongful Arrests and Racial Harassment

Alan Swanson and Willie Bennett were wrongfully arrested for the 1989 murder of Carol Stuart, who was shot and killed by her husband Charles in Mission Hill in 1989.

At the time, Charles Stuart lied to police and said a black man killed his wife. The false accusation led to the wrongful arrests and Wu says it resulted in racial harassment in the neighborhood by city officials and Boston Police.

“This dark time in the City’s history exacerbated distrust between Boston’s Black community and the Boston Police Department,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. “Acknowledging this painful moment and apologizing for the City’s wrongdoing is an effort to aid in the healing of those still living with this trauma and our City as a whole.”

Formal Apology and HBO Docuseries

The case and its aftermath are the subject of the new HBO docuseries “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, and Reckoning.” Swanson and the family of Willie Bennett will join Wu and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox on Wednesday at Boston City Hall to mark the formal apology.

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