Joe Exotic seeking pardon from Donald Trump
DALLAS - The attorney for Joseph Maldonado, better known as Joe Exotic, renewed calls for the documentary star to be released from prison, and is seeking a pardon from president-elect Donald Trump.
Maldonado, a former exotic animal wrangler and the star of the Netflix show Tiger King, is currently imprisoned at the Fort Worth Medical Center.
Joe Exotic's lawyer reveals ‘new evidence’ at news conference
Levi McCathern, a lawyer for Joe Exotic, claims that the convictions against his client should not be overturned and says there will are "inconsistencies" in the case against him.
In 2020, Joe Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in prison after he was convicted of two counts of murder-for-hire in an attempt to kill animal activist Carole Baskin, who was a critic of Maldonado's animal park.

Carole Baskin (left) and 'Joe Exotic' (right)
He was also convicted on eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records, and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act. In his trial, lawyers said that Maldonado personally shot and killed five tigers in Oct. 2017.
McCathern claims key witnesses, including alleged hitman Allen Glover, have admitted to perjury in Exotic's case.
"Joe Exotic did not hire anyone to murder anyone," said McCathern. "He was convicted of a murder-for-hire, but there's a problem with that. No one was killed, no one was paid and no one, except for Joe, was ever charged."
Maldonado is calling for president-elect Donald Trump to pardon him.
In 2021, Maldonado was hopeful that Trump would pardon him at the end of his first term, hiring a limo to pick him up from the Fort Worth Medical Center.
Trump did not pardon Maldonado.
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The Tiger King's sentence was reduced from 22 years in prison to 21 years in 2022.
Joe Exotic Release Date
Joe Exotic is scheduled to be released from prison on March 18, 2036.
While in prison, Maldonado's health has deteriorated.
The 61-year-old was diagnosed with prostate cancer and contracted scabies, according to his representatives.
Tiger King Success
The backstory:
The original ‘Tiger King’ series aired on Netflix in March 2020, just as coronavirus pandemic restrictions forced people to stay home.
It drew some 64 million household viewers in its first month and was nominated for six prime-time Emmy awards, according to the company.
Much of the series has focused on a dispute between Baskin and Maldonado-Passage over treatment of tigers, lions and other big cats at an Oklahoma zoo he formerly operated.
A sequel to the series was released in 2021.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Levi McCathern's office, the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma and the Associated Press.