Blood atonement

Blood atonement was once a teaching of the Mormon Church. Brigham Young first preached about blood atonement in the 1850s, though Joseph Smith may have thought of it first.

Blood atonement taught that murder is so bad that the only way the murderer could pay for their sins was to be killed. This was sometimes called "blood-for-blood" punishment because it was used to punish murder. However, sometimes it was also used for non-violent crimes, like denying or leaving the church or marrying someone of a different race.

The idea of blood atonement led to firing squads being allowed in Utah for many years. It also may have led to the Mountain Meadows Massacre, where Mormons killed some emigrants from Arkansas.

At one time, most Mormons believed in blood atonement. Today, only some fundamentalists do.  

Blood Atonement Media

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  Execution by firing squad of John D. Lee for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre. Lee's blood was shed on the ground where the massacre had taken place 20 years earlier; nevertheless, Brigham Young said that Lee "has not half atoned for his great crime".

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  Joseph Smith did not teach blood atonement, but taught a "blood for blood" law of God's retribution, stating that if he could enact a death penalty law, "I am opposed to hanging, even if a man kill another, I will shoot him, or cut off his head, spill his blood on the ground and let the smoke ascend thereof up to God ..."

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  The execution chamber in Utah State Prison. The platform to the left is used for lethal injection. The metal chair to the right is used for execution by firing squad.