Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic from the Netflix series Tiger King, was convicted in a murder-for-hire case involving animal welfare activist Carole Baskin. Maldonado-Passage was sentenced to 22 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of trying to hire two gunmen — one of which was an undercover FBI agent — to kill Baskin. He was also convicted of selling tiger cubs and killing five tigers.
The undercover FBI agent was offered $10,000 by Maldonado-Passage, who was caught on an audio recording telling the agent to “follow her into a mall parking lot and just cap her and drive off.”
A federal judge reduced his punishment by just one year on Friday, January 28, 2022. This reduction in his sentencing came after an appeals court ordered a new sentence ruling that improper sentencing guidelines had been used in his 2020 conviction.
Marc Piscotty/Getty Images
The former zookeeper has also been pleading for leniency from the judges as he begins treatment for prostate cancer which Maldonado-Passage had been delaying until after the resentencing.
Carole Baskin, who was also featured in Netflix’s Tiger King,testified in court that she was still fearful Maldonado-Passage could threaten her. “He continues to harbor intense feelings of ill will toward me,” she explained.
Many supporters of the former zookeeper piled into the courtroom, with some even wearing animal-print masks and shirts that stated “Free Joe Exotic.”
What do you think of Joe Exotic’s re-sentencing? Let us know in the comments.