The Tiger King Slammed With A New Prison Sentence
The Tiger King, Joe Exotic, was just slapped with an updated prison sentence. It's not looking good for this dude at all.
This article is more than 2 years old
The name Joe Exotic was very well-known after the release of the 2020 Netflix documentary, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. The series follows the true crime story revolving around Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage. Joe Exotic also went by the name of Tiger King. He was a zookeeper convicted of a murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist, Carole Baskin. The Tiger King was originally given a prison sentence of 22 years. However, after a new court ruling, his sentence has been dropped to a 21-year sentence. On the downside, the sentence poses a few problems for the Tiger King.
According to People, the Oklahoma Western District Court had dropped his 22-year sentence to only a one-year difference, offering a 21-year prison sentence instead. The Tiger King has recently been diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer. He had appealed to the court for a shorter and less severe prison sentence so he would be able to focus on treatments for his illness.
Confirmed by CNN, Joe Exotic’s attorney, John M. Phillips, had a few statements to say in regards to the court’s decision. He offered, “We are unsatisfied with the court’s decision and will appeal. The main issues will be addressed in the Motion for New Trial.” Previously, his attorneys had pleaded for a more reasonable sentence since Joe Exotic didn’t carry previous criminal convictions. However, Carole Baskin had her own views and opinions about any sort of shorter prison sentence for the Tiger King.
According to the Associated Press, Carole Baskin expressed her feelings about the ongoing situation to the judge. “He continues to harbor intense feelings of ill will toward me,” she said. Baskin also blamed the popular Netflix series and that it made her fears even greater since fans were in support of the Tiger King. Joe Exotic had delayed his treatments for cancer believing he would be given a huge drop to his lengthy prison sentence. However, it is clear that the opposite has happened.
The Netflix series released in 2020 gave a lot of details in regards to what happened with Joe Exotic and the dramatic storyline centered around Carole Baskin. The zoo, which was owned by Exotic, was eventually given to the hand of Baskin and her organization Big Cat Rescue. Due to the popularity and sudden gigantic interest in the story behind the Tiger King, Netflix released Tiger King 2. However, the outcome and reception for the sequel were extremely low compared to the first season. Carole Baskin also sued Netflix after watching the trailer for the second season. Baskin didn’t want to be featured on the continuing series, but upon watching the clips from the trailer, she was clearly in it.
So far, it is unclear what will happen to Joe Exotic’s prison sentence. However, prosecutors have proof that, in a meeting recorded back in 2017, the Tiger King had told an undercover FBI agent to harm and kill Carole Baskin, according to AP News. This would add to the difficulty of possibly shortening his prison sentence. His attorney feels very strongly about fighting for a shorter sentence. But until that day comes, Joe Exotic will have no choice but to start to carry out his 21-year sentence.
