A federal judge on Friday ignored a plea for leniency by Tiger King star Joe Exotic, resentencing him to 21 years in prison.
Exotic (real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage) was originally sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in federal prison after his conviction in a murder for hire plot involving animal rights activist Carole Baskin. Both were featured prominently in Netflix’s hit true-crime series that explored the strange world of big-cat breeding.
The former zookeeper asked for a reduced sentence as he began treatment for prostate cancer. He wound up with just a year off his original sentence.
“Please don’t make me die in prison waiting for a chance to be free,” Exotic tearfully told the federal judge. He still had his trademark mullet hairstyle, but the bleach-blonde has now faded to brown and gray.
Baskin and husband Howard Baskin attended the proceedings. She said she was fearful that Maldonado-Passage could threaten her.
“He continues to harbor intense feelings of ill will toward me,” she told the judge.
Baskin claimed she has received “vile, abusive and threatening communications” over the last two years, despite Exotic’s imprisonment. She told the judge Exotic poses an even more serious threat to her because the popular Netflix series has increased his support.
Exotic’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. He is allegedly not receiving proper medical care at the federal prison where he’s incarcerated, she claimed.
Friday’s court ruling came after a federal appeals court decided that the prison term Exotic is serving should be shortened.
Supporters packed the courtroom, some wearing animal-print masks and shirts that read “Free Joe Exotic.” His attorneys said they would appeal the resentencing and petition for a new trial.
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