Born and Raised to Murder

<p>In this book Judge Sullivan skillfully 'pulls back the curtain' to illuminate the circumstances that led Leo Boatman to kill two college students within a few seconds of exchanging pleasantries with them along a park trail. This book is as compelling as it is disturbing; it is a masterful account that helps the reader to understand the murderer without excusing his behavior.</p><p><br></p><p>-- Kathleen M. Heide Ph.D. Distinguished University Professor University of South Florida; Editor of <em>The Routledge International Handbook of Juvenile Homicide</em></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>When Florida juvenile judge Irene Sullivan read about the arrest of the young man who killed two college kids camping in the Ocala National Forest she took action-in a surprising way. She began writing to Leo Boatman 19 determined to understand what led him to commit such a random violent act. She shares their correspondence and examines many other cases of delinquency and its destructive trajectory in her first book <em>Raised by the Courts: One Judge's Insight into Juvenile Justice.</em></p><p><br></p><p>Here in <em>Born and Raised to Murder</em> Sullivan continues her exploration into a foster care system that abuses neglects and incarcerates children like Boatman who seem unable to break free from a cycle of crime. Through her singular relationship with Boatman she offers a rare insider's view into his background not as an excuse for his crimes but as a way to understand how a bright bookworm of a child ended up a killer on death row. </p><p><br></p><p>You'll read about Sullivan's role as a defense witness in Boatman's trial enlightening perspectives from juvenile delinquency experts Kenneth Wooden Dewey Caruthers and Dr. Adele Solazzo as well as Boatman himself.</p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>I want my story to be told so what happened to me never happens to another foster kid. If you want to create a pit bull put a kid in solitary confinement in a juvenile prison without books to read and taunted by prison guards. -Leo Boatman</p><p><br></p>