Bossip
Video
Source:
MediaNews
Group/Boston
Herald
via
Getty
Images
/
Getty
On
Oct.
23,
1989
Alan
Swanson
and
Willie
Bennett
were
accused
of
murdering
a
white
woman
named
Carol
Stuart.
The
men
had
absolutely
nothing
to
do
with
her
death,
yet
Stuart’s
husband
Charles
Stuart
told
police
that
a
Black
gunman
attempted
to
carjack
them
and
ultimately
shot
Carol
in
head
and
him
in
the
chest.
The
couple
was
expecting
a
child
and
was
leaving
a
birthing
class
at
the
hospital
when
the
attack
occurred.
Source:
MediaNews
Group/Boston
Herald
via
Getty
Images
/
Getty
Charles
survived
but
Carol
Stuart
died
in
the
hospital
the
following
day
and
their
child
only
lived
for
17
days.
Charles’
description
of
the
gunman
lead
the
Boston
Police
Department
on
a
reign
of
terror
in
the
Black
community
including
racist
“stop
and
frisk”
tactics.
Ultimately,
it
would
be
discovered
that
Charles
Stuart
orchestrated
his
wife’s
murder
and
used
Black
men
as
his
scapegoat.
Boston
has
been
long
known
for
hateful
acts
against
Black
bodies
and
this
case
inflamed
those
bigoted
behaviors.
Source:
MediaNews
Group/Boston
Herald
via
Getty
Images
/
Getty
According
to
APNews,
Boston
Mayor
Michelle
Wu
issued
Swanson
and
Bennett
a
formal
public
apology
on
behalf
of
the
city.
“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,
handing
both
families
a
written
apology.
“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,
reopening
a
wound
that
has
gone
untended
for
decades,”
she
added.
You
can
watch
the
full
press
conference
in
the
video
below.
