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ksl.com - Defense asks for no Mormons on murder trial jury

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"An attorney for a man charged with aggravated murder have filed a motion to keep off the jury any members of the Mormon church who might believe that the only way for him to be forgiven by God is to be executed."

Before you dismiss this story as far-fetched consider the following:

"Joseph Smith taught there there are certain sins so grievous that man can commit, that they will place the transgressors beyond the power of the atonement of Christ. If these offenses are committed, then the blood of Christ will not cleanse them from their sins even though they repent. Therefore their only hope is to have their own blood shed to atone, as far as possible, in their behalf" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.1, p.135)

In 1958 Mormon apostle Bruce R McConkie explained, "As a mode of capital punishment, hanging or execution on a gallows does not comply with the law of blood atonement, for the blood is not shed"

The laws of the state of Utah are founded on Mormon philosophy and as recently as 1977 they allowed an appeal for execution by firing squad; you may have seen the film The executioner's Song with Tommy Lee Jones, based on Norman mailer's novel:

"Utah State Prison - A last-minute court decision cleared the way today [Jan.17, 1977] for the execution of Gary Mark Gilmore, 36, and moments later the condemned killer was shot to death here by firing squad" (You can read more about Gilmore here and follow the story from the link below)

ksl.com - Defense asks for no Mormons on murder trial jury

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