Lastly, when his confessions did not produce the effect he wished, he said, that he really believed in what was preached in the synagogue, and persisted in this belief for a year; but that he had not confessed, because he thought there was no proof of his heresy in the depositions of the witnesses. The inquisitors decreed that Melchior should not appear in the _auto-da-fé_ of this day, and that they would consult on the proper measures to be taken. On the 14th of December, Melchior ratified his propositions of the 9th, but on the condition that all that had passed should not separate him from the Catholic communion, or cause him to be considered as a Judaic heretic. On the 18th he desired another audience, and again confessed that he believed in the Law of Moses. Yet on the 29th of June, 1566, he declared that the Holy Scriptures were read in the assembly, that he believed part of what he heard, and had consulted a priest on the subject; that the priest told him it ought to be held in contempt, and that this decision had regulated his subsequent conduct. On the 6th of May, 1566, the tribunal assembled to decide whether the definitive sentence pronounced against Melchior should be executed. Two of the consultors voted in the affirmative; the inquisitors, the ordinary, and the other consultors agreed that Melchior had confessed enough to entitle him to reconciliation. In an audience on the 28th of May, the accused again asked pardon, alleging that he had only believed what he heard, until he was undeceived by the priest. On the 30th he declared that he thought all he had heard necessary to salvation. In the October following, he was again admitted to an audience, where he spoke against the inquisitor, who had received his confession on the day of the _auto-da-fé_ (this was Don Jerome Manrique); he complained of the ill treatment he had been subjected to, in order to obtain new declarations. He acknowledged that his confessions on that day were true, but added that the presence of two inquisitors was necessary to prevent the abuse of authority which took place in his case. The fiscal protested against the act of reconciliation granted to Melchior on the 6th of May, 1566, and demanded that the sentence of _relaxation_ pronounced on the 8th of October, 1565, should be executed, because the accused had shown no signs of true repentance, and would not fail to seduce others into heresy if he was pardoned. The inquisitors consulted the Supreme Council, which decided that the prisoner should be examined again before the ordinary and consultors, and the affair submitted to the Council. The sentence was pronounced on the 9th of May, 1567; three of the judges voted for the _relaxation_, and two for the _reconciliation_ of the accused.