Blood atonement
![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](/Images/godic/202501/01/Execution_of_John_D._Lee2114.png")
![Joseph Smith did not teach blood atonement, but taught a](/Images/godic/202501/01/GeneralJosephSmithAddress-JohnHafen2114.jpg")
![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.](/Images/godic/202501/01/Execution_Chamber_at_Utah_State_Prison2114.jpg")
In Mormonism, blood atonement is a controversial doctrine that taught that some crimes are so heinous that the atonement of Jesus does not apply. Instead, to atone for these sins the perpetrators should be killed in a way that would allow their blood to be shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering.