NEWSDesperate Times? Joe Exotic Says He Will Accept Carole Baskin's Offer To Help Reduce His Prison Sentence
A change of heart. Joe Exotic might just get out of prison early with the help of none other than Carole Baskin.
Despite serving time for an attempted murder-for-hire plot to kill Baskin, her husband, Howard, told the Mirror that the couple would assist in Exotic's early release on the condition that he support the Big Cat Public Safety Act.
"If he were to do that, it might position him in a positive way for a pardon. And frankly, I might be willing to go and urge at least a reduction in his sentence," Howard said.
"It is time for Carole and Howard to put up or shut the hell up because I'm accepting their offer," the Tiger King star, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, told Entertainment Tonight.
"And I'm gonna take it one step further than that, OK? It is time to get on the phone to President Biden or whoever they need to that they've got in their little financial pocket and say, 'Hey, Joe is willing to support a big cat bill to help protect cats in America from being exploited. But we need to keep our end of the deal and get Joe a pardon because this wasn't really about murder for hire or shooting five tigers — this was about exploiting Joe to support Carole's agenda.' So, there's the offer on the table, all right?" he added.
Exotic is serving a 22-year jail sentence; he was convicted on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder for hire for a plot to kill the Big Cat Rescue CEO.
"The way [the Big Cat Public Safety Act was] written is not gonna help anybody except PETA and Carole Baskin," Exotic said of the act, which prohibits the private ownership of big cats such as lions and tigers to halt the cub petting industry. The act was passed by the House of Representatives on December 3, ET reported.
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"So, I'll testify in front of the Senate, I'll testify in front of the House, they want to end big cats in America and they want to end the exploitation of them, I'm the man to do it. But it's time to get an attorney general down here and listen to the evidence that I have to prove I'm innocent and get me the hell out of here. And they've got my support. Other than that, they need to stay the hell out of the news with all their crap just to get their name in the paper because I just called their bluff," Exotic continued.
Baskin is standing by her word, but being cautious. "I wouldn't seek a reduced sentence for Joe based upon him just saying he'd help end cub handling," the 59-year-old told the outlet.
"I think he'd say anything, but not actually do it. He'd have to actually work with authorities to bring all of his buddies to justice and work with legislators to end cub handling. Then, I'd want him to be rewarded for having done the right thing."
Exotic had his hopes up to get a pardon from former president Donald Trump, but was disappointed when that didn't work out. "I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump," Exotic tweeted on Inauguration Day.
"I'm taking a deep breath because I feel such a sense of relief," Baskin told Fox News at the time. "From the very time that he was sentenced I have worried about there being a presidential pardon that could undo all of the hard work that went into bringing this person to justice."
