Public Defender Skeet Johnson Retiring

Growing up with his parents and two brothers in the projects of Chicago - in an atmosphere of intimidation "where you didn't know what was going to happen next" - Skeet Johnson says he was surrounded by love at home.

"My mother was a steadying influence. She vowed that the streets wouldn't get us," Johnson recalls.

And his dad, a chauffeur to wealthy Chicagoans, was "the strongest man I know."

Johnson, 59, retired this month after nearly 23 years as a lawyer with the Colorado State Public Defender's office, representing in court those accused of crimes.

The Colorado Criminal Defense Bar recently awarded Johnson its 2007 Alvin Lichtenstein Life Achievement Award for his "remarkable accomplishments."

The Denver Post