Governor George Ryan banned executions because of cases in which innocent people have been scheduled for execution only to be proven innocent while on death row. This event has sparked a new flood of death penalty articles around the nation. Gonzales makes his case for the death penalty by comparing recent events, but he detracts from his argument by using biblical references. Gonzales singles out Christians as major opponents to the death penalty. He weakens a valid argument by using a controversial record book, the bible, as a reference in supporting the death penalty because the author is assuming everyone believes the Bible is a legitimate record.
Many people become immediately defensive when religious documents are used as a point of reference.
Another problem with his approach is the fact that few people, believers or not, are knowledgeable about the contents of the Bible. Gonzales makes reference to three different cases in which one cannot help but support the death penalty. The first example is the tragic story of a black man from Jasper, Texas, who was viciously beaten and then dragged to death behind a vehicle. These people have maliciously killed, yet there is still argument that people like this should be saved from a deserving death. Pretend that one of those killers took someone dear to you.