Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Wednesday issued a formal apology to two Black men wrongfully accused of killing a white woman in 1989.
The story of Carol Stuart’s murder and the efforts to pin it on Alan Swanson and Willie Bennett have been deeply reported by The Boston Globe’s Adrian Walker for years, and it’s garnered attention lately with the help of a recent podcast and HBO docuseries called “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage and Reckoning.”
The reporting and docuseries tell the story of how a man named Charles Stuart murdered his pregnant wife in October 1989 and falsely accused a Black man of being the killer. Swanson, who allegedly matched the fake description of the gunman Stuart provided to police, was initially arrested. He was later released when police arrested Bennett and Stuart identified him as the gunman. Police later learned it was Charles Stuart who killed his wife and attempted to frame an innocent Black man.
Neither Swanson nor Bennett were formally charged, but the documentary and podcast tells the story of how police, Boston residents, and news media helped promote Stuart’s false allegations.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Wu thanked both men and their families for appearing, saying “your presence here is a gift, in the truest sense of the word, in that it has been given but not earned.”
“We are here today to acknowledge the tremendous pain that the city of Boston inflicted on Black residents throughout our neighborhoods 34 years ago,” Wu said.
Speaking of Bennett and Swanson, 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,” which resulted in “reopening a wound that has gone untended for decades.” And, she added, “What was done to you was unjust, unfair, racist and wrong.”
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, who is Black, also apologized for the “hurt, pain and suffering” caused by their “poor investigation and overzealous behavior” during the investigation into Carol Stuart’s murder.
Watch the full press conference below:
This is a story “The ReidOut” team has been following closely. In my view, what’s most noteworthy in Wu’s statement is her contrition on Boston’s behalf and her denunciation of police propaganda. It comes at a time when conservative forces in both major parties seem eager to grant more deference to police officers. Republican politicians nationwide tend to reject criticism of police practices (though Trump’s legal troubles have made things awkward for them on that front), but some Democratic officials have bucked liberals and shown disturbing deference to police, as well.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, has overseen a return of disturbing and discriminatory tactics being deployed by New York Police officers. And Houston’s Democratic Mayor-elect, Tom Whitmire, has branded himself as being tough on crime, embracing, for example, a controversial policy that would bring more Department of Public Safety troopers to Houston. Wu’s remarks are a reminder that public safety and public trust are co-dependent. And when police partake in bigoted targeting, an apology is necessary to begin the healing process.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.