Dan Markel was a prominent American legal scholar and professor, born on October 9, 1972, in Toronto, Canada. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2001. Markel also completed a Master of Philosophy in political theory at Cambridge University and was a Berkman Fellow at Harvard. He clerked for Judge Michael Daly Hawkins on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit before working as an associate at the prestigious Washington, D.C. law firm Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel. In 2005, Markel joined the faculty of Florida State University College of Law, where he became the D'Alemberte Professor of Law. He was widely recognized for his scholarship in criminal law, particularly his work on liberal retributivism, and was the founder and anchor of PrawfsBlawg, a leading legal blog that fostered academic discussion on jurisprudence and legal education. Markel published extensively on criminal law and procedure, earning respect for his analytical rigor and innovative perspectives. Markel’s life was tragically cut short on July 18, 2014, when he was shot and killed in his garage in Tallahassee, Florida. His murder became the subject of a high-profile investigation, revealing a complex web of personal and familial disputes. Over the following years, several individuals were arrested and convicted in connection with the crime, including associates and family members of Markel’s ex-wife. The case has continued to attract public and legal attention, with ongoing developments and trials as recently as 2022. Dan Markel is remembered for his intellectual contributions to legal scholarship, his leadership in legal education, and the enduring impact of his work on criminal law and legal blogging.