Mitchell E. Finlay Announces Initiative to Assist Single Mothers in Miami-Dade Linked to Business Profits After Prison

Florida inmate Mitchell E. Finlay has developed an innovative plan to benefit single moms in Miami-Dade from his business profits after release from prison.

PEMBROKE PINES, FLORIDA, USA, July 11, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Balanced Justice Network - Changing the System has learned that Florida inmate Mitchell E. Finlay has developed an innovative concept utilizing a portion of profits earned by companies he will launch after release from prison to specifically assist single moms in Miami-Dade County.

"I owe everything to my mother who raised me as a single mom and also to my grandmother who helped raise me. My grandmother just passed days ago at the age of 97 young. Her name was Zenaida Serrano. I always called her Bela because as a toddler I mispronounced "abuela" meaning grandmother. My Bela was brave and formidable. She arrived to the United States as a young woman in 1948, learned English, became a citizen, went on to marry and later raised 3 children as a single mom. As a by product of my mother's love and my grandmother's love, I have always had a special place in my heart for single moms. After my release from prison I will dedicate a percentage of all profits I earn through various companies I launch to directly fund grants and gifts of assistance to single mothers in Miami-Dade County. This issue of helping struggling single moms is dear to my heart. I am determined to touch lives in this regard," stated Finlay during a recent interview. "Furthermore, I challenge current and future entrepreneurs and businessmen and women to replicate this concept and allocate a portion of their corporate profits to specifically help single mothers and their children directly."

Reminiscing about his recently deceased grandmother, Finlay expressed how he had prayed and hoped to see and hold his grandmother upon his release from prison. "Fact is none of us would be here without our mothers. Too often mothers are raising children without the proper assistance they and the children require and deserve. I need to honor my grandmother and my mother through my actions once I am released from prison."


- Currently, Finlay is in a Florida State prison serving a mandatory Life sentence.
- August of this year will mark his 23rd year incarcerated.
- His family is campaigning for a second chance and his release on probation.
- Finlay has maintained his innocence throughout the past two decades.
- He was in his late 20s at the time of his arrest.
- On May 30th Finlay turned 52 years old.
- Podcast episodes by Finlay can be heard on Balanced Justice Network addressing a broad range of subjects.

In 2001 Finlay, then in his late 20s, was arrested in Miami Beach after a one-night intimate encounter in his hotel room with a woman he had just met. He was accused of sexual assault, rejected a 5-year plea deal from Miami-Dade prosecutors, went to trial believing innocent people don't take plea deals, lost at trial and was sentenced to Life. He has served 22 years and 11 months. (CASE NO. F01-24201, IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, IN AND FOR DADE COUNTY.)

The Founder and Executive Director of Balanced Justice Network, Evelyn Castillo-Bach is determined to demonstrate to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle that Finlay is worthy of a second chance and merits immediate release on probation. "As Mitchell's mom and as Executive Director, I don't seek to point fingers. We simply want the Miami-Dade State Attorney to give Mitchell a second chance. He will contribute to the lives of many others," affirms Castillo-Bach.

The American Bar Association 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report addressed the issue of a significant differential between plea deals offered and the prison sentence administered when defendants chose to go to trial. As reported, “while in general some difference between the sentence offered prior to trial and the sentence received after trial is permissible, a substantial difference undermines the integrity of the criminal system and reflects a penalty for exercising one’s right to trial. This differential, often referred to as the trial penalty, should be eliminated."

Castillo-Bach added her agreement with the following American Bar Association statement in the 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report.

“Charges should not be selected or amended with the purpose of creating a sentencing differential, sentencing enhancement, punishment or collateral consequence to induce a defendant to plead guilty or to punish defendants for exercising their rights, including the right to trial.”

Balanced Justice Network advocates for criminal justice reform, second chances and transparency in plea bargains and sentencing.

The Balanced Justice Network website also gives a concise summary on the case and includes a link to the last legal brief filed by Finlay’s appellate attorney Richard C. Klugh.

On November 13, 2015, appellate attorney Richard C. Klugh filed an appeal to the Life sentence in THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, THIRD DISTRICT, CASE NO.: 3D15-1249, MITCHELL FINLAY, Appellant,-vs-STATE OF FLORIDA. APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA IN AND FOR DADE COUNTY.

Evelyn Castillo-Bach
Balanced Justice Network - Changing The System
info@balancedjusticenetwork.org
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