John Bessler

John David Bessler
Bessler in 2014
Born	1967 (age 57–58)
Education	University of Minnesota (BA) Indiana University Bloomington (JD) Hamline University (MFA) University of Oxford (MSt)
Occupations	Attorney educator
Title	Associate Professor of Law at University of Baltimore School of Law
Spouse	Amy Klobuchar ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	1
Website	University profile

John David Bessler (born 1967) is an American attorney and academic. He is a professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law and an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. He is the husband of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Background

Bessler was born in 1967. ^[1] He attended Loyola Catholic School in Mankato, Minnesota, and received his B.A. in political science from the University of Minnesota, J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law, M.F.A. in creative writing from Hamline University and his M.St. in international human rights law from Oxford University. Bessler studied international human rights law at Oxford University and wrote articles for the Indiana Law Journal and the Arkansas Law Review.^{[ citation needed ]}

Legal career

Bessler previously taught at the University of Minnesota Law School and The George Washington University Law School, where he specialized in death penalty issues. In addition, Bessler clerked for U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Mason of the District of Minnesota and practiced law as a partner at Kelly & Berens, P.A. Bessler currently is a tenured associate professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he teaches civil procedure, contracts, capital punishment, international human rights law, and lawyering skills.^{[ citation needed ]}

Writing

Bessler is the author of Writing for Life: The Craft of Writing for Everyday Life. His 2014 book The Birth of American Law: An Italian Philosopher and the American Revolution (Carolina Academic Press, 2014) discusses the influence of the Italian jurist and philosopher Cesare Beccaria on the founders of the United States.

Capital punishment

Bessler is a leading authority on capital punishment, having written five books and various book chapters and articles on the subject. Two of his books on the subject, Death in the Dark: Midnight Executions in America and Legacy of Violence: Lynch Mobs and Executions in Minnesota, were Minnesota Book Award finalists. He has written that the death penalty, even independent of actual executions, is intrinsically a form of torture, arguing that each element of a capital case constitutes a death threat, from charging an individual with a capital crime to the promise of an imminent execution for a condemned person. ^[2]

Bessler also has contributed to one event, a teleforum entitled "Execution Methods and Deciding Implementation of the Death Penalty," held by The Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian organization. ^[3]

Personal life

Bessler is married to Amy Klobuchar, a politician and lawyer who currently serves as a U.S. Senator for Minnesota. They have a daughter. ^[4] On March 23, 2020, Klobuchar announced via Instagram that Bessler had contracted COVID-19 and was later hospitalized. ^{[5] [6]}

Bibliography

• — (1997). Death in the Dark: Midnight Executions in America. Northeastern University Press. ISBN   978-1555533229.
• — (2003). Kiss of Death: America's Love Affair with the Death Penalty. Northeastern University Press. ISBN   978-1555535674.
• — (2003). Legacy Of Violence: Lynch Mobs And Executions In Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN   978-0816638116.
• — (2007). Writing for Life: The Craft of Writing for Everyday Living. Bottlecap Books. ISBN   978-0979271809.
• — (2012). Cruel and Unusual: The American Death Penalty and the Founders' Eighth Amendment. Northeastern University Press. ISBN   978-1555537166.
• — (2014). The Birth of American Law: An Italian Philosopher and the American Revolution. Carolina Academic Press. ISBN   978-1611636048.
• Breyer, Stephen (2016). Bessler, John (ed.). Against the Death Penalty. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN   978-0815728894.
• — (2017). The Death Penalty as Torture: From the Dark Ages to Abolition. Carolina Academic Press. ISBN   978-1611639261.
• — (2018). The Celebrated Marquis: An Italian Noble and the Making of the Modern World. Carolina Academic Press. ISBN   978-1611637861.
• — (2019). The Baron and the Marquis: Liberty, Tyranny, and the Enlightenment Maxim That Can Remake American Criminal Justice. Carolina Academic Press. ISBN   978-1531013059.
• — (2022). The Death Penalty's Denial of Fundamental Human Rights: International Law, State Practice, and the Emerging Abolitionist Norm. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1108845571.
• — (2023). Private Prosecution in America: Its Origins, History, and Unconstitutionality in the Twenty-First Century. Carolina Academic Press. ISBN   978-1531020064.

References

1. "Bessler, John D. 1967-". Encyclopedia.com . Retrieved April 21, 2025.
2. Bessler, John (May 4, 2023). "A Torturous Practice: Prohibiting the Death Penalty's Use Through a Peremptory Norm of International Law". Faculty of Law, University of Oxford . Retrieved April 21, 2025.
3. "Execution Methods and Deciding Implementation of the Death Penalty". fedsoc.org. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
4. Klobuchar Gives Update on Husband Hospitalized with Coronavirus, The Bemidji Pioneer, March 24, 2020.
5. Spencer, Jim (March 29, 2020). "Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar details husband's ordeal with COVID-19". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
6. Smith, Morgan. "Amy Klobuchar's Husband Recounts His Harrowing Battle with Coronavirus: 'This Is Not a Cold'". U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. Retrieved November 7, 2021.

External links

• University of Baltimore School of Law Faculty Profile
• Appearances on C-SPAN