A judge has ruled that Jesus Christ was innocent of the charges that sent him to his death at the hands of Roman authorities in Galilee two millennia ago, a newspaper in this southern city reported Thursday. Judge Eduardo Rodriguez told the Ideal newspaper the idea to symbolically overturn Christ's conviction on charges of political rebellion came to him while he was preparing a prayer for traditional Passion Week ceremonies. ``I consider myself almost a blasphemer because I'm nobody to judge Christ,'' the daily quoted him as saying. ``But my intention was to give Jesus of Nazareth a just sentence and teach a lesson to those who judged him.'' Jesus of Nazareth was crucified under Roman law around the year 30 after being condemned as a political rebel. ``If that trial had been held with all the due guarantees, he would have been absolved, among other reasons, because nobody was defending him _ he only had accusers,'' Rodriguez said. He used Biblical texts to prepare the case and concluded his ruling by asking Jesus for forgiveness.
