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Texas is the only state that requires jurors to determine that the defendant is likely to commit criminal acts of violence that would “constitute a continuing threat to society” in order to impose a death sentence. During Gonzales’ 2006 trial, psychiatrist Edward Gripon testified that Gonzales derived pleasure from acts of sexual violence and was unlikely to stop or be rehabilitated.

Fifteen years later, Gripon reevaluated Gonzales and reversed his assessment, citing his prior reliance on a debunked statistic and witness testimony that has since been recanted. It was the first time the psychiatrist had issued a report changing his opinion in a death penalty case, Gripon told The Marshall Project in 2022.