Once someone claimed to have evidence of a person engaging in a Jewish practice, it was automatically assumed to have religious importance. As demonstrated by Pedro de Villegas, this was not always the case. Although the Inquisitors stated that he “ate meat during Lent without need or reason” and “willingly observed the Sabbath in his home,”7 de Villegas was actually able to provide valid reasons why these acts did not prove his guilt . He noted that he ate meat “out of necessity” due to his illness. He also said: “If I rested on any Saturday, it would be during a time when my business as a textile maker was not thriving, there were a month or two during which I did not work at all.” he appeals to a series of witnesses who confirm his explanations. Since great emphasis was placed on limpieza de sangre (purity of blood), de Villegas and his witnesses were smart to mention his Christian lineage and the fact that he often attended mass. She also separated herself from Jews when she remarked, “I never speak to Jews, nor was I raised to have such an inclination.”9 María Gonzalez, however, readily admitted that the customs in which she and her family participated were “for the good of the Jews