WATCH LIVE: Boston Mayor Wu apologizing to 2 Black men wrongfully arrested in Charles Stuart case
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STREAMING HERE: Boston Mayor Wu apologizing to 2 Black men wrongfully arrested in Charles Stuart case
WATCH LIVE: Boston Mayor Wu apologizing to men who were wrongfully arrested in Charles Stuart case.
WATCH LIVE: Boston Mayor Wu is apologizing to two Black men who were wrongfully arrested in the 1989 Charles Stuart case.
Posted by Boston 25 News on Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is expected to issue a formal apology to two men wrongfully arrested in 1989 by police investigating the killing of Carol Stuart, a case that fanned racial tensions in the city.
Months after Stuart was killed, it was revealed that her husband Charles Stuart had orchestrated her murder. He lied to investigators at the time and said the gunman was a Black man. His accusation resulted in the racist harassment of Black men, in particular those living in the Mission Hill neighborhood, by City officials and the Boston Police Department.
Wu will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday at City Hall to issue apologies to Alan Swanson and Willie Bennett for their wrongful arrests. Swanson is set to be in attendance, along with Bennett’s family and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox.
Wu plans to “publicly acknowledge the harms caused by the City of Boston to the Black community,” her office said in a media advisory.
“This dark time in the City’s history exacerbated distrust between Boston’s Black community and the Boston Police Department,” Wu’s office said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”
Neither Swanson nor Bennett were formally charged with anything related to the case. But both men were publicly labeled as suspects in the notorious shooting.
The apology follows an extensive Globe investigation — and a related HBO docu-series — into the Stuart case and its aftermath. The series came out earlier this month.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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