Joe Exotic lives up to his name in every way possible. The man became an international sensation after Netflix’s Tiger King was released in 2020. His wacky long blonde hairstyle, colorful clothes, and of course, his beloved Tigers drew in audiences.
Not to mention the fact that he was openly gay and loved guns added another dimension to him. In the eyes of many, he was more of an interesting character than a real-life person.
But every character needs an interesting rivalry or obstacle to make them truly remarkable in the eyes of the audience. For Joe Exotic or Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, Carole Baskin, the Florida animal sanctuary owner, was that person.
Many viewers thought that this rivalry remained on-screen. But the water went way overhead, and that landed Joe in prison. So what exactly happened that he found himself behind bars?
Joe Exotic, or Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, is in jail on two counts of murder for hire to kill Carole Baskin, nine counts of Endangered Species Act violations, and violating the Lacey Act 8 times. He was serving a 22-year prison sentence and hasn’t received a pardon. His lawyer, John M Philips, tried to get him free on compassionate grounds as he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. But the federal judge only decreased one year from his sentence. So now he has to serve 21 years.
Why Is Joe Exotic in Jail?
Even though Netflix’s Tiger King brought Joe Exotic a tonne of fame, he couldn’t enjoy it because he’s currently in FMC Fort Worth prison serving an extended 22-year (now 21-year) sentence. But why is he in jail?
There are multiple reasons, one of which is attempted murder. Joe Exotic was convicted on April 2, 2019, for hiring hitmen not once but twice to murder Carole Baskin.
He paid $3000 to hitman Allen Glover to travel to Florida and carry out the deed. But that didn’t happen because Allen disappeared after taking the money. This happened in November 2017. Again in December of the same year, he approached an undercover federal agent posing as a hitman to do the deed.
This incident, plus Glover’s testimony, helped the government make a case against Joe Exotic. During the case, prosecutors showed that the big cat enthusiast had falsified records of multiple wildlife transactions. He said that he was selling animals on the pretext of donating them or sending them for exhibitions. He was convicted of violating the Lacey Act 8 times.
During the trial, prosecutors proved that Joe Exotic had been cruel to animals and had harmed them. In fact, he had killed five tigers by shooting them in October 2017. Joe had carried out this act without any vet present. So he had violated the Endangered Species Act. Overall, he was convicted of 9 violations from 2016 to 2018.
He was sentenced to 108 months for each murder-for-hire conviction, 48 months for violating the Lacey Act, and 12 months for flagrant violation of the Endangered Species Act. Also, he will be monitored for three years after his release.
Is Joe Exotic Close to Getting Out of Jail?
Joe Exotic isn’t close to finishing his prison term, but his lawyer, John M Philips, asked him to be released before his 22-year sentence was up since he was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. As per BBC, Joe penned a letter that disclosed that he wanted to enjoy whatever life he had left with his close ones.
Philips had stated that they were trying to get the court’s attention before the resentencing so that Joe could ideally get a compassionate release that would enable him to get better medical treatment. This isn’t the first time, Exotic and his team have been trying to secure a release for him. In March 2020, he appealed to then-president Donald Trump for a pardon.
Also, OK magazine had once released graphic photographs of him wounded at the Oklahoma Grady County jail. Joe had alleged that the prison guard there had sexually assaulted and beaten him up. The magazine reported Joe saying:
“I was sexually assaulted by a guard in Grady County, beat the f— up and stripped naked. I was tied in a chair (for) so long the skin came off my arms … and then locked in a room naked for eight days sleeping on a cold metal shelf on the floor with dried feces and sperm on it from so many others before me. There is no mental help there — it’s just abuse.”
However, the federal judge overseeing the resentencing hearing only decreased his sentence by a year. So he’s now serving 21 years in prison.
What are your thoughts on this?
Does Joe Exotic deserve to be released on compassionate and humanitarian grounds? Or are his deeds evil enough that he deserves to serve his entire sentence?
Let us know in the comments.
Source: BBC and OK Magazine
