arrest was made, the accused was given several opportunities to admit to any heretical behavior before the charges against him/her were identified. If the accused did not admit to any wrongdoing, the inquisitors dictated the charges and the accused was required to respond to them immediately. Torture was used, but only for extracting confessions during a trial and was not used as punishment after sentencing. If torture was used, the accused was required to repeat their repentance without torture. The Inquisition also had a rule that they were allowed to use torture only once, however, they were able to 'suspend' sessions and resume them the following day, but never led into a third day. As in the French inquisitions, the purpose of Spanish inquisitorial torture was to gain information or confession, not to punish. It was used in a relatively small percentage of trials since of course the threat of torture if no confession was given was often enough to induce one, and torture was usually a last resort. The "scenes of sadism conjured up by popular writers on the inquisition have little basis in reality, though the whole procedure was unpleasant enough [even] to arouse periodic protests from Spaniards". The modern historian Thomas F. Madden has suggested that the Inquisition "was an attempt to stop unjust executions" and "the Spanish Inquisition was widely hailed as the best run, most humane court in Europe". The auto de fe The auto de fe that followed trials is the most infamous part of the inquisitions in Spain. The auto de fe involved prayer, celebration of Mass, a public procession of those found guilty, and a reading of their sentences. Artistic representations of the auto de fe usually depict torture and the burning at the stake. These paintings became a major source for creating the violent image popularly associated with the Spanish inquisitions. However, this type of activity never took place during an auto de fe, which was in essence a religious act. Torture was not administered after a trial concluded and executions were always held after and separate from the auto de fe. Because the autos de fe officially separate torture and execution, all these events should be considered separate. Although some torture (routine throughout the continent at the time) may have been caused indirectly by the church, the church did not hold itself officially responsible for the murders committed during the