PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. - Marylandian -- Evelyn Castillo-Bach, the  Executive Director of Balanced Justice Network - Changing The System,  announced today that the organization she founded is declaring the entire Month of November as Prison Sentences Awareness Month.

"The establishment of November as Prison Sentences Awareness Month is intended to not only raise awareness about unfair prison sentences but to also empower family and friends of incarcerated persons on how they can move to change the system," stated Castillo-Bach who is well-known as the mother of a son who was sentenced to Life in Florida after he rejected a 5-year plea deal in Miami-Dade County, believing that innocent people don't accept plea deals.

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In September of this year, Balanced Justice Network - Changing The System announced it launched a campaign to engage with the top prosecutor in Miami-Dade County, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "The purpose of the campaign, Second Chances Matter, was to raise awareness on the importance of second chances and the ethical responsibility of prosecutors," asserts Castillo-Bach.

"Second Chances Matter" is seen by Castillo-Bach as critically important in returning balance to the criminal justice system.

As reported in the 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report: American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section:

"In general while 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."

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On the website for Balanced Justice Network anyone can listen to podcast episodes from Mitchell E. Finlay. "These podcast episodes are a window into the integrity and goodness of a human being who deserves a second chance," stated Castillo-Bach.

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.

A video by Castillo-Bach posted on YouTube also appears on the website.