Your tip
RadarOnlineRadarOnline
or
Sign in with lockrMail
BREAKING NEWS
Exclusive

Desperate Joe Exotic Vows He'll Kill Himself if He Loses Jail Appeal — and Details How He'll End It

Photo of Joe Exotic
Source: NETFLIX

The former reality star is done with his ex after finding a new man.

Nov. 4 2024, Published 3:47 a.m. ET

Link to FacebookShare to XShare to FlipboardShare to Email

Defiant Tiger King Joe Exotic has vowed to snuff out his own life behind bars if he fails to win his freedom.

In an exclusive interview from jail, Joe told RadarOnline if he loses his appeal: "One night I'm going to take a very long nap. I refuse to allow the United States of America to do this to me. They have the evidence that I'm innocent."

The TV personality said he managed to take three overdoses behind bars. He once swallowed 106 blood pressure tablets despite being locked in solitary confinement.

Article continues below advertisement
joe exotic vows hell kill himself
Source: MEGA

Joe Exotic, real name Joseph Allen Maldonado, bashed his 'broke' ex.

Article continues below advertisement

Joe, 61, said he was confident his legal team would secure his freedom, saying: "I've got a plan either way. If I get released I'm going to go to get married.

"Then if I don't, then one night I'm going to take a very long nap."

Joe has a new man in his life after proposing to a 33-year-old fellow inmate named Jorge Marquez after dumping a former fiance on the outside by letter.

He shared on X: "He is so amazing and is from Mexico. Now, the quest of getting married in prison and getting him asylum or we be leaving America when we both get out."

Joe told us he didn't want to grow old surrounded by fellow inmates smoking the mind-bending drug K2 – a synthetic cannabis smuggled inside the jail soaked in paper.

Article continues below advertisement
joe exotic vows hell kill himself
Source: MEGA

Exotic became a cult figure globally after Netflix series Tiger King aired over lockdown.

Article continues below advertisement

Joe said: "That has no value of life for me. I refuse to become one of these people.

Joe said: "If I put in my whole sentence, I will be 73 when I walk out of here with nothing. I've put in seven years, I'm not going to put in 30 years like the Menendez brothers did."

The Menendez brothers, who are serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty, in LA have been back in the public eye since the release of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story which argues their case should be revisited.

Article continues below advertisement
joe exotic vows hell kill himself
Source: MEGA

Joe Exotic said he doesn't want to do 30 years of jail like the Menendez brothers.

Article continues below advertisement

And confident Joe said he believed "God has plans for me" and he intends to become a prison reformer if he is freed next year.

He also revealed that donations from fans and well-wishers were funding his legal fight and he had run up costs of $31,000 since March.

Joe said he drew strength from the more than 50 letters he receives each day from supporters across the globe.

Article continues below advertisement
joe exotic vows hell kill himself
Source: NETFLIX / YOUTUBE

Confident Joe Exotic said he believed ‘God has plans for me’ and he intends to become a prison reformer if he is freed next year.

MORE ON:
Lyle Menendez

DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.

Article continues below advertisement

The former exotic animal park owner is currently serving a 21-year prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas, is hoping he'll be released in the next year after his legal team filed an appeal for a retrial based on newly discovered evidence.

Joe was convicted of two counts of murder for hire, nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act, and nine counts for violations of the Lacey Act, a law that prohibits the illegal trafficking of wildlife, fish, and plants.

He was jailed in 2019 and is currently set to be released in 2036.

Article continues below advertisement
joe exotic vows hell kill himself
Source: MEGA

Joe Exotic was jailed in 2019 and is currently set to be released in 2036.

Article continues below advertisement

Before he was imprisoned, Joe operated the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, also known as the G.W. Zoo from 1999 to 2018.

He was arrested three months after leaving the zoo on suspicion of hiring two men to kill his rival Carole Baskin, the founder of Big Cat Rescue.

This isn't the first time Joe's legal team has filed a motion for a new trial.

Article continues below advertisement
joe exotic vows hell kill himself
Source: MEGA

In January 2021, Joe Exotic's team also hoped he would be given a presidential pardon from Donald Trump – and they were so confident they even had a limo waiting for him outside prison.

Article continues below advertisement

In 2021, his attorney John Phillips filed a motion for a new trial which resulted in the US appeals court ruling that the convictions for the two murder attempts were wrongly treated as separate.

The following year, Joe had his sentence reduced from 22 to 21 years.

In January 2021, Joe's team also hoped he would be given a presidential pardon from Donald Trump – and they were so confident they even had a limo waiting for him outside prison.

The pardon didn't materialize.

Article continues below advertisement
joe exotic vows hell kill himself
Source: GLOBAL NEWS / YOUTUBE

Joe Exotic’s current attorney Roger Roots said he has evidence that shows that Joe's initial trial was ‘undamentally riddled with errors that went to the very heart of the accusations.’

His current attorney Roger Roots says he has evidence that shows that Joe's initial trial was "fundamentally riddled with errors that went to the very heart of the accusations".

"Had that evidence been known at the time, he would not have been convicted," he claimed.

Have a tip? Send it to us! Email RadarOnline.com at tips@radaronline.com.

More From Radar Online

    Opt-out of personalized ads

    © Copyright 2024 RADAR ONLINE™️. A DIVISION OF MYSTIFY ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK INC. RADAR ONLINE is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Offers may be subject to change without notice.