All Gods Children: Psychosocial

Social History of
Willie J. Bosket

Table of Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………….........................pg.3
Family Background…………………………………………………………………………….pg.5
Early Childhood………………………………………………………………………………..pg.7
Being Bad: Teenage Years……………………………………………………………………..pg.9
Willie’s Trial………………………………………………………………………………….pg.10
Willie’s Legacy……………………………………………………………………………….pg.12
References………………………………………………………………………………….....pg.13

Executive Summary Willie Bosket is a 51 year old man who has been incarcerated since 1978. He is currently serving a sentence of 82 years to life at Woodbourne Correctional Facility. The following report summarizes Willie’s life from birth to the present. It is based on the literature from All Gods’ Children and other sources such as journals, letters, articles, and interviews from 1995 until today. Willie was born in Harlem, New York. Shortly after he was conceived Willie’s father Willie Sr. (Butch), stabbed and killed two people in a Milwaukee pawn shop. Willie’s mother Laura gave birth to Willie three months before Butch was sentenced to life in prison. Willie did not learn of his father’s whereabouts until he was seven years old. He was delighted by the news. Just like his father, throughout Willie’s life he was subject to neglect and abuse that is linked to his criminal background and defiant behavior. Willie also suffered from neglect and abuse from his mother Laura that became predictors of his heinous violent behavior. Many times Laura would not want to recover him from the police when he was in trouble because she had given up on his uncontrollable behavior. The behavior which was partially caused by the abuse he was receiving in the home. Laura would slap him with around with her hand and whip him vigorously with a belt. These beatings reinforced Willie’s belief that the way to settle things was by getting