John Suthers (R)
DENVER, Colo. (Legal Newsline)-A book by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers about his legal career has been getting national attention, his publisher told Legal Newsline on Friday.
The book, "No Higher Calling, No Greater Responsibility; A Prosecutor Makes his Case," is on bookstore shelves nationwide, and "has been doing well for us nationally," said Erin Palmiter, marketing manager for Fulcrum Publishing, based Golden, Colo.
The book about Suthers' experiences as AG, a prosecutor and his time as a private lawyer contains chapters on a bevy of legal topics, including jury reform, professional ethics, the media, and mandatory sentencing.
In this, his fifth book, Suthers, who has been vocal critic of U.S. immigration policy, tells about his lawsuit against the federal government to recoup money Colorado has spent incarcerating illegal immigrants.
"In 2007, in the Colorado prison system alone, we spent $40 million incarcerating illegal immigrants. If you add in the jails, we're probably at $80 million. The federal government reimbursed us $3.9 million. That's about 9 percent of the cost," Suthers wrote.
Suthers also takes aim at how the U.S. justice system treats the mentally ill.
"Forty-five years ago, we had 600,000 people in mental institutions. Today, despite the fact that the population has doubled, we have 60,000. That's one-tenth as many. Our vision was, we'd get these people into treatment," Suthers wrote. "We have a lot of people on the street, under bridges, 20 percent of the population of the Colorado Department of Corrections is seriously mentally ill. We need to have a system that deals with them more appropriately."
Suthers, who was raised by adoptive parents, also wrote about his family life, and how he would like to see more children get the opportunities he has received.
"There are too many people keeping children who, frankly, aren't well prepared to give those children the kind of upbringing they need. It's an interesting phenomenon that there's not many people using adoption today, and there's plenty of people willing to adopt kids," Suthers wrote.
"I would like to see a renaissance of adoption as an incredibly viable option for young kids who need a better environment to grow up in. There are many of us who benefited greatly from having been adopted as infants and I think it's an under-used option."
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.