Cancer-Hit Joe Exotic ‘Doomed to Die in Jail’ After Judge Denies Murder-For-Hire Tiger King Star, 61, Federal Appeal
Joe Exotic may die in prison as he fights cancer
Joe Exotic is likely to die behind bars as his journey to be a free man again has hit numerous roadblocks.
RadarOnline.com has exclusive details on the Tiger King's life in prison as he fights cancer.
A source told RadarOnline.com: “Joe is on his last legs, and this denial was a hammer blow for him. He’s been through a brutal cancer fight, and hearing there is virtually no chance of having his prison sentence reduced is probably the end of the line for him."
The source added: “He’s slowly becoming resigned to the prospect he is going to die while caged.”
Joe Exotic may die behind bars after an unsuccessful appeal.
Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic, had his appeal struck down at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver in 2022; a win would have reduced his prison sentence by eight years.
The 61-year-old is currently serving a 21-year prison sentence after he was convicted in a murder-for-hire plot of Carole Baskin twice, his rival zookeeper.
The world was introduced to Maldonado-Passage and his bizarre antics and personality when Netflix released the true crime docu-series Tiger King during the pandemic in 2020.
While the series became one of the streaming service's most watched shows ever, it led to plenty of controversy and backlash especially from conservation and animal rights groups.
Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic, is fighting cancer while in prison.
Despite his bleak situation, the TV star has not backed away from seeing the light of day again as he's aiming for a successful appeal or a Presidential pardon.
He said in an interview with News Channel 8 earlier this year: "I’m actually appealing my whole case, to overturn my conviction," and added that prison has been "rough."
During the same interview, Maldonado-Passage still had words for Baskin years after his conviction.
He said: “I still think that she is bats--t crazy and that she killed her husband. But me and Carol, me and Carol made money off of each other for years.”
DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.
The Tiger King star is currently serving a 21-year sentence.
The Netflix star has not been shy about his life behind bars or the conditions either.
Earlier this summer, Maldonado-Passage pleaded with President Biden to sign the Federal Prison Oversight Act.
He wrote: "Something that was promised during the 2020 campaign and has gone to the waste side [wayside] until three months before the election. All while people have been dying from gross abuse of medical care, solitary confinement, poor diets and plain abuse within the federal prison system and why?
"Because it is one of the most corrupt organizations within our government because too many politicians have an invested interest in making money from the prison system."
The 61-year-old was convicted in a murder-for-hire plot of Carole Baskin twice, his rival zookeeper.
Maldonado-Passage added that the bill would "do absolutely no good" unless the staff at prisons were "held criminally responsible" for abusive acts.
Some of those acts, according to Maldonado-Passage, included: "Bringing in drugs and contraband, stealing things paid for by the BOP and taking it home, destroying facilities so friends and families can bid on fixing things, the abuse of inmates by depriving them of simple things such as hygiene material to bathe with, including no razor to shave, no comb [for] your hair and no brush for your teeth."
President Biden ended up signing the bill.
Have a tip? Send it to us! Email RadarOnline.com at tips@radaronline.com.