‘Tiger King’ star Joe Exotic resentenced to 21 years in prison

Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also called Joe Unique, is seen on the zoo he used to run in Wynnewood, Okla., on Aug. 28, 2013. A federal choose resentenced Maldonado-Passage after an appeals court docket dominated final yr that the jail time period he’s serving on a murder-for-hire conviction must be shortened.

Sue Ogrocki, Related Press

A federal choose has resentenced Joseph Maldonado-Passage — popularly recognized Joe Unique — to 21 years in jail for a murder-for-hire plot that focused Carole Baskin, an animal activist who rivaled the Tiger King in his enterprise, based on CBS Information.

The resentencing shaved off one yr off the unique 22-year sentence.

• “Please don’t make me die in jail ready for an opportunity to be free,” he tearfully stated to the federal choose, per The Related Information.
• Maldonado-Passage, 58, nonetheless has his trademark mullet, although the bleach-blond has light away, leaving him with brown and gray hair.

Per The New York Occasions, his lawyer, John M. Phillips, stated, “We're unhappy with the court docket’s determination and can attraction.”

Baskin and her husband, Howard Baskin, have been additionally on the proceedings.

• “He continues to harbor intense emotions of unwell will towards me,” Carole Baskin advised the choose, including that she has continued to obtain “vile, abusive and threatening communications” since Maldonado-Passage went to jail, per the report.

He was convicted in 2019 on 21 counts, which embody wildlife crimes and hiring hitmen.

• In 2020, he acquired his 22-year sentence.
• He has at all times maintained his innocence and fueled public campaigns.
• Maldonado-Passage didn't obtain a pardon from President Donald J. Trump in 2021, as beforehand reported by Deseret Information.
• In November, Maldonado-Passage was recognized with stage one prostate most cancers, which has been detected early and hasn’t unfold.