Circumstances under Which Capital Punishment Is Justified
Alma 62:9–10
9 And the men of Pachus received their trial, according to the law, and also those king-men who had been taken and cast into prison; and they were executed according to the law; yea, those men of Pachus and those king-men, whosoever would not take up arms in the defence of their country, but would fight against it, were put to death.
10 And thus it became expedient that this law should be strictly observed for the safety of their country; yea, and whosoever was found denying their freedom was speedily executed according to the law.
With regard to capital punishment, the First Presidency (Presidents Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith) said:
“We solemnly make the following declarations, viz: That this Church views the shedding of human blood with the utmost abhorrence. That we regard the killing of human beings, except in conformity with the civil law, as a capital crime which should be punished by shedding the blood of the criminal, after a public trial before a legally constituted court of the land. . . . The revelations of God to this Church make death the penalty for capital crime, and require that offenders against life and property shall be delivered up to and tried by the laws of the land.”
(Millennial Star, Jan. 1890, 33–34.)
