Partially handcuffed wrist symbolizes the border between freedom and incarceration
Logo arrow shows the path forward.
Mitchell E. Finlay is committed to contributing to the lives of misguided young men by embarking on a national public speaking tour.
PEMBROKE PINES, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, May 3, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — The family of Mitchell E. Finlay announced today that he is committed to engage in a national public speaking tour to contribute to the lives of misguided young men. “One of my major life purpose is to save and inspire young men by sharing my life story with them, helping them to see how leading a reckless lifestyle can derail your life, end your life,” stated Finlay during a prison phone call. Finlay’s determination, states his family, is borne from the lessons he wished he had learned when he was a young man in his 20s.
Finlay has recorded numerous podcast episodes from prison which can be heard on Balanced Justice Network. One of the podcast episodes is titled. “On Making a Difference. Another episode is titled “Christian Faith.”
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. She accused him of sexual assault. He rejected a 5-year plea deal from Miami-Dade prosecutors, went to trial, believing innocent people don’t take plea deals, and was sentenced to Life. He has served 22 years.
“I have maintained my innocence for 22 years. I think it is disproportionate to sentence a man to Life when prosecutors offered a 5-year plea deal. Nevertheless, more than two decades in prison have contributed to my life. I have become a better man, a strong, honorable man,” stated Finlay who added: “It has served as a long time out for me to examine my previous life style and find my center and balance as a Christian beholden to Jesus Christ.”
Finlay’s religious conversion surprised his family at first, they say, because prior to prison he read the bible only sporadically. “But now we understand,” stated his mom. “He has converted the cruelty of a Life sentence into an opportunity to improve himself and plan for his future as a free man contributing to the lives of other young men to save them and their families from the pain and anguish delivered by leading a reckless life style.”
“I am determined as a mother and as Executive Director of Balanced Justice Network to demonstrate to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle that Mitchell is worthy of a second chance and merits immediate release. We don’t seek to relitigate the case or 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. We pray she exercises her power, authority and discretion to place him on probation,” affirms Castillo-Bach.
According to the American Bar Association 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report, their study identified a significant differential between plea deals offered and the prison sentence administered when defendants choose to go to trial.
As reported in the 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report, Criminal Justice Section “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
