If we go back to the Old Testament and the “law”, we find that the shedding of blood was a requirement of atoning for sins through blood sacrifices.
Christians maintain that Christ shed his blood in a final atonement for the sins of all who believe in Him. Early Mormon doctrine taught that certain sins like murder and adultery were not covered by the blood of Christ, and that the only way you could ever be atoned of those heinous sins was by having your own blood spilled. This was a common belief among Mormons in Utah. Up until the 1970’s the State of Utah met with resistance in ending the firing squad in capital murder cases. The reasoning being, that murder was a sin that must be atoned by shedding the blood of the murderer.
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2003/s879371.htm
Make that up until 2003 (per the linked article)
Thank you for the explanation. I recall watching a program sometime ago about the firing squad in Utah (it was only one of several different means of capital punishment practices throughout the States and the historical basis for it was not mentioned (that I recall)).