Although it was very familiar to his old sentence, Joe Exotic received a new prison sentence. The Tiger King star was resentenced to 21 years following his plea for freedom due to starting early-stage cancer treatment.
Born Joseph Maldonado-Passage, the former zookeeper, was sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in prison after trying to hire two different hitmen to kill animal welfare activist Carole Baskin. The two had past drama since she criticized his treatment of animals.
AP News mentions the severeness of his illness. “Maldonado-Passage’s attorneys told the judge their client is suffering from stage-one prostate cancer, along with a disease that compromises his immune system, making him particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.”
Maldonado-Passage appeared in court on Friday and pleaded, “Please don’t make me die in prison waiting for a chance to be free.” The Netflix breakout star was rocking his well-known mullet though it was very gray and not his iconic platinum blonde statement.
Fox News reports that federal prosecutors said in court records that they would defer recommending a new sentence for Maldonado-Passage because of the allegations he raised.
Despite Maldonado-Passage’s efforts to maintain his innocence, he was found guilty of offering an undercover FBI agent $10,000 to plot on and kill Baskin in December 2017.
In a recording, he explains how the murder should happen, “just like follow her into a mall parking lot and just cap her and drive off.” Though defense attorneys say he wasn’t serious, he was found guilty.
He also was guilty of “killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying wildlife records,” according to AP News.
The Netflix show Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness highlighted his relationship with the animals that many deemed unique yet bizarre. Supporters still believe the former zookeeper should be free as “Free Joe Exotic” still trends today.
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