Hector Rodriguez is a father, friend, and abolitionist who advocates for closing down as many prisons as possible. At the age of 21, Hector was sentenced to 28 years to life, of which he served 27 years and two months. The arts (acting, writing, visual arts) served as Hector’s escape route from the loneliness, thick haze of stress and anxiety that accompanied him for most of the long, cold years in the cold, cement box that held his body captive. Through creative writing, Hector discovered a part of him that kept auditioning for its opportunity to perform on parchment.