Death Row Jesus is sure to raise some eyebrows

A still from a Texas ministry's newest campaign. (Little Pencil Ministries) A still from a Texas ministry's newest campaign. (Little Pencil Ministries) Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Death Row Jesus is sure to raise some eyebrows 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

Death Row Jesus is coming to Texas TV screens.

No it’s not a new AMC drama or a documentary on the History Channel. It’s one Christian ministry's way of relating a religious message to modern eyes.

The ad campaign comes from the same people who put a heavily-tattooed savior of mankind on billboards last year, and created a video of Jesus as a bearded tattoo artist to go with it.

The ad caused a controversy in Lubbock where a school district there objected to an inked son of God being shown on a paid advertisement on a football stadium video board.

That case eventually went to federal court and is currently being appealed.

The provocative campaigns have been the brain child of Little Pencil Ministries, founded by David L. Miller. The name of the ministry refers to a famous quote from Mother Teresa ("I'm a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.")

The new commercial shows a shackled Jesus clad in an orange prison jumpsuit being led by guards through a prison block filled with all manner of sinners, including rapists, murderers, prostitutes, corporate sharks, even someone who could be a Westboro Baptist Church member (complete with a picket sign) sitting in cells wallowing in their actions. He is later beaten by guards and shown dying on a cross in atmospheric footage.

"Preachers, prostitutes, popes and pedophiles are all equally undeserving of Christ's love," said Miller in a press release this week, "but we all receive his forgiveness on the same terms."

You can already see it in its entirety on YouTube.

The gist of the nearly four-minute clip is that Jesus Christ died for all of these people, no matter how bad they may seem. At the end of the clip most of the sinners decide to leave their cells for greener pastures. The corporate shark decides to stay.

Unlike the 59 billboards that Little Pencil for the tatted-up Jesus campaign -- which were centered in Lubbock -- the Death Row Jesus ads will be shown across the country.