msifinal
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One hundred lashes on her naked back in the Plaza de la Libertad. Laney’s knees trembled and her throat tightened as she agonized over her horrible fate. Why did she come to this wretched and corrupt place for missionary work? She could have built houses in poor communities at home with her college friends.
If only she hadn’t tried to interfere while the soldiers were looting the village, leading to her arrest and quick trial. Pressure from the U.S. media and Amnesty International only strengthened the government’s resolve to make an example of this meddling girl, even at the potential cost of her life.
The teeming crowd roared when they saw Laney emerge stripped to the waist, exhausted and pale from a dread-filled month in prison. She began to shake when she saw the coiled instrument that would rip the soft skin from her back. Tied sweating and sobbing with her small chest pressed against the post, Laney quietly whimpered a prayer for survival. Her plea was replaced by a shrill cry at the first shocking crack of the lash.