This ISU focuses on the issue of political prisoners who have spoken out against the government in protests, through social media posts or other public places. These people are imprisoned, tortured, and sometimes killed because of their disagreements with the government of their country. Until February, I did not have a good understanding of what a political prisoner was. After a guest speaker named Janet Spring came into Mr. Babcock's politics class and shared the story of her son-in-law, Edwin Espinal, who is currently a political prisoner being held in Honduras, I instantly became interested in learning more about the topic. I also realized that I had been taking my voice for granted. I have the right to freedom of speech and the ability to express my own opinion, whereas many people around the world do not. They get tortured and arrested for speaking out. Janet Spring is the woman who inspired me to research and write about this topic.