Denver District Attorney Beth McCann’s office was in mid-pack last week so The Denver Gazette interviewed her in the 2nd Judicial District’s conference room in its cushy new offices in Republic Plaza in downtown Denver.

In the interview, she discussed criminal justice, her once-contentious relationship with the Denver Police Department and her love for climbing 14ers — many of which she saw every day from the 53rd floor.

McCann first ran for Denver District Attorney in 2003 and lost to eventual three-termer Mitch Morrissey. Interestingly, John Walsh, who will succeed McCann Tuesday, came in third that year. McCann ran again in 2016 and became Denver’s first female district attorney, but not before she served for nine years in the Colorado legislature representing portions of central Denver.

During her eight years, 75-year-old McCann started a behavioral unit to better address substance abuse and mental health disorders within the criminal justice system and an elder and at-risk adults unit. She also established the Handgun Intervention Program, which provides diversion opportunities for first-time juvenile offenders arrested on gun charges.

But she also faced stinging criticism from former Mayor Michael Hancock and from her own police chief, Paul Pazen, who retired in August 2022, for what they believed was a soft approach to crime and releasing violent criminals too early.

McCann bristled at that mention of her turbulent time with the Denver Police Department.

“It was hard,” she said. “He (Pazen) was wrong. But I always tell people, ‘Look who survived.'”

McCann told The Denver Gazette she is most proud of her “ideology of balance” — what she described as keeping dangerous offenders off the streets, while recognizing second chances for non-violent offenders.

“If we can catch these people at an earlier stage when they’re just beginning to get into the system, then we have a chance to actually impact their life so they don’t continue to commit crime,” she said.

Denver Gazette: It’s been 50 years since you attended Georgetown University Law School. How have things have changed for women in the legal profession since then?

Beth McCann: It’s much better than it was. There were very few women in law school in the early ’70s. At Georgetown, we were divided into sections. My section had 150 people, which had 10 women. Today, women make up 50% or more of the law school population.

DG:  What kind of law were women going into back then?

McCann: One of my roommates went into corporate law at a big law firm in New York and another went back home to Nashville and ran her dad’s Buick company. I was interested in public service.

DG: You could have gone for the big bucks but you chose the law-and-order side of criminal law.

McCann:  I find it more fulfilling to do something that feels like you’re making an impact and for the betterment of your community. Also, I wanted to become comfortable in court through doing more trial work. Being in the DA’s office was perfect.

DG: When you started in the Denver DA’s office in 1975, you were among the first woman trial attorneys ever to work there. How were you received in the courtroom?

McCann: I remember my first judge in Denver. His name was William Conley. A wonderfully sweet man. When I went into his courtroom, he asked, “Is it Miss or Missus?” and I said, “Well, it’s Ms.” He was flummoxed. He didn’t know what to do with me. So, I think he just called me “Miss.”

DG: Do women bring different skills to this job?

McCann: Women tend to be better listeners. I, for example, have been more of a collaborative leader. I like to get a lot of opinions and then make a decision. Some men do that but generally not as much. I also think that women have a broader view of the system, so often in their eyes it’s not all black and white. It’s gray.

DG: What about your work as Denver DA are you most proud of?

McCann: I can’t pick one, but I am proud of perpetuating an ideology of balance. Some criminals should be taken out of circulation because they’re dangerous. For public safety purposes, they need to be in prison. But there are others who get in the system for mental health reasons, family dysfunction, poverty, and substance abuse. Figuring out how we keep them from repeating their behavior and keep them out of prison is important to me because the ultimate goal is public safety. 

I’m proud of starting the Elder Abuse Unit, and our Firearms Relinquishment program where we make sure domestic violent offenders don’t have access to guns. I know we’re saving lives with that one. Our Restorative Justice program has been very successful. It has a 3.6% recidivism rate. (Editor’s note: A Denver Gazette fact check showed that this was as of February 2024.)

DG: You’re especially proud of the Juvenile Direct File bill, which you sponsored as a legislator.

McCann: When I get a juvenile that commits murder, for example, or sex assault, the DAs have the option to file directly an adult court, so they would be subject to the adult penalties versus juvenile penalties. Before that juvenile direct file bill, that was completely discretionary with the DAs, so the bill that that I sponsor requires, depending on the crime in the age of the juvenile, that we can’t direct file.

DG: Is juvenile crime really increasing or is that a headline for click bait?

McCann: Yes, it’s increasing, but it isn’t quite as dramatic as I was thinking in terms of the really violent crimes. But it is disturbing that there has been been a pattern of violent crimes by juveniles increasing one year and then it might go down a little bit the next year, but then it goes up more the following year. What we are seeing is more homicides and serious assaults.

DG: What kinds of serious assaults are kids committing?

McCann: An assault, for example, where the victim has serious permanent damage but is not killed. … Juvenile crime is one of the things that I am most concerned about. Honestly.

DG: You ran for Denver DA and lost to Mitch Morrissey in 2004. But following that, you were a four-term state representative for House District 8. How did that experience contribute with your next job as Denver DA?

McCann: I benefitted from networking and making contacts.  While I was in the legislature, I passed a bill to strengthen human trafficking (laws). I used that to start the Denver human trafficking unit. We did a bill on domestic violence offenders about guns. And then when I got here, I discovered it wasn’t being enforced by judges, so I hired a firearms relinquishment investigator to determine whether guns were involved in domestic violence cases. Once a judge is advised, those guns are turned in. 

When you’re in the (Capitol) dome, you don’t know if your laws are being implemented. But once I got here (as DA), I made sure they were. 

DG: One of the biggest criticisms about your time in office has been that you’re soft on crime. Do you coddle criminals?

McCann: No and I’m not soft on crime. We have seven jury trials going in the felony courts this week. Murder 1, several assaults, sex assault, strangulation … We are over there every day trying cases and convicting people and getting them sentenced.

That said, I believe it’s a balance. We need to have more ability to look at a case, look at the defendant, their record and the circumstances, talk to victims and detective and find a reasonable solution.

DG: In August, Stephan Long became a free man after you asked the court to dismiss charges against him in a road rage shooting. Long had been arrested and accused of shooting two brothers on I-25 in June 2023. He had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. But it took a year. Why did this take so long? 

McCann: That was quite a decision. That one was a very, very difficult involved process. I looked at that case for a long time, watched all the interviews, read and watched everything I could get my hands on and talked to a lot of lawyers here in this office. There were differing opinions in the community. It was a tough decision but it was the right decision after I analyzed everything. And so hearing the differing viewpoints led me to believe that we could not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

DG: I read somewhere that your husband wore shorts to your first date. You wore a suit. You must be very different people.

McCann: Yeah, we still are very different people.

DG: You raised two kids, who are now adults. How did you stay grounded managing a career and a family?

McCann: I didn’t run for office until they were older. My husband was a pilot and he was often gone for four or five days, but then he was home for long stretches so he did a lot of childcare. But it was difficult because, when he was gone, he was gone. Juggling that was tough. I have so many young women in this office who have young children. I don’t know how they do it because when I had young children, I don’t think I could have done a heavy trial docket. Part of it is they have husbands who are much more supportive and willing to do that than it used to be in the old days.

The women in this office are incredible. They are top-notch trial attorneys. A lot of the detectives want the women on their cases because they’re so detail-oriented.

DG: Tell us about the history of your relationship with the Denver Police Department. Former Chief Paul Pazen resigned under pressure a couple of years ago, but not before he criticized you for being soft on crime. What was that like for you when that happened?

McCann: It was hard. He was wrong. But I always tell people, ‘Look who survived.’

DG: And how is your relationship with the current Denver police Chief Ron Thomas?

McCann: I have an excellent relationship with with Chief Thomas. He spoke at my going away party. He’s just a really solid straight shooter. He doesn’t play games.

DG: How close do you allow yourself to get to your police force though, considering you are also the person who must review police misconduct?

McCann: It’s extremely important to stay objective. It’s not just officer-involved shootings. Sometimes, officers injure someone or they may use an improper police hold. It’s my job to consider whether that’s a crime or a policy violation.

DG: How do you police the police?

McCann: An attorney from my office goes to the police department every week and the DPD Internal Affairs detectives will show our attorney any questionable behavior.

In fact, we have a meeting this afternoon about a case involving an officer. The detective is coming over to present the case to us and we will look at all the body worn camera footage. 

DG: What do you want your legacy to be?

McCann: That overall, I looked at the criminal justice system in a broader lens other than the idea that we’re going to automatically imprison everyone. I want for people to recognize that our huge system touches many different people. You have victims of crime, you have defendants, you have families. Even a small case impacts a lot of people.

Bottom line is we are ministers of justice. We have to exercise that discretion.

DG: What have you advised incoming District Attorney John Walsh about the office he’s assuming Tuesday?

McCann: We’ve had a number of conversations. He has committed to me that he’s going to continue the programs that I’ve started. I hope that he will expand them. I think he will continue to enjoy a good relationship with Chief Thomas. He’s a decent, kind person and I think he will do an excellent job.

DG: Are you going to have a hard time letting this go?

McCann: It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be bittersweet.

DG: In what way?

BM: I like having a public impact. But I also realize that I am getting older and I want to have time to do other things and have more flexibility. And I think change is good.

Soon after she leaves office, McCann and her entire family will spend three weeks skiing the Swiss, Italian and French Alps. She also wants to climb her 43rd fourteener. If anyone happens to cross paths with a tiny, 70-something woman hiking to the 14,254 peak of Mount Wilson in the Lizard Head Wilderness of the San Juan National Forest, tell her not to look at her cellphone.

“I don’t know if I can do that,” she laughed. 

Editor’s note: Some of the answers have been edited for brevity.