Supreme Court Denies Appeal of 'Tiger King' Star Joe Exotic's Conviction

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to consider throwing out the 2019 conviction of Joe Exotic, the star of the Netflix series “Tiger King”. The conviction was for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin. The former zookeeper, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is serving a 21-year prison sentence. This is after a federal jury found him guilty of paying a man to kill Baskin, another star of the documentary series and a frequent critic of his animal park. He was also convicted of falsifying wildlife records and violating the Endangered Species Act.

Alexander Roots, a lawyer for the television star, told the justices that the case arose from an “intense personal, litigation, operational, and even political, rivalry between two of America’s two largest big cat exhibitors”. Baskin founded the Florida rescue facility Big Cat Rescue and was a major advocate of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which limited the possession of big cats and crossbreeds to wildlife sanctuaries, state universities and certified zoos, among other changes. Former President Biden signed it into law in 2022.

Roots argued that trial errors warranted review of the case. He wrote in Maldonado-Passage’s petition to the court: “By denying any hearing and refusing to evaluate the evidence as a whole, the lower courts departed from the principles that safeguard every criminal prosecution in the Nation.” The Justice Department waived its right to respond. At Maldonado-Passage’s trial in 2019, prosecutors said he hired two men to kill Baskin, one of whom was an undercover FBI agent. They also said he personally shot and killed five tigers in October 2017 and sold and offered to sell tiger cubs in interstate commerce.

With little luck on appeal, Maldonado-Passage has also asked former President Trump to pardon him. The first request came during Trump’s first term in the form of a handwritten letter to the White House in September 2020; Trump said at the time he would “take a look.” Maldonado-Passage requested a pardon from Biden in 2021 without success. And last year, he renewed his request to Trump after garnering support from public figures, including Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.).

The conviction of Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, stands firm. The federal jury found him guilty of paying to kill Carole Baskin, as well as falsifying wildlife records and violating the Endangered Species Act. The magnitude of the charges and the evidence presented against him were decisive for the sentence.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to review the case underlines the strength of the initial conviction and the failure of the defense to demonstrate significant procedural errors that would justify a new judicial review. This ruling ends Exotic’s hopes of a possible early release and consolidates his time in prison.

Joe Exotic’s lawyer, Alexander Roots, highlighted the intense personal and political rivalry between the parties involved, which adds a layer of complexity to the case. The dispute between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin went beyond professional differences, involving litigation, business operations, and political stances. Baskin, founder of Big Cat Rescue, advocated for the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which led to restrictions on the possession of felines and crosses.

The defense argued that these elements, combined with alleged procedural errors, justified a review of the case, but the Supreme Court found no grounds to intervene.

Joe Exotic attempted to obtain a presidential pardon from both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, but without success. The first request to Trump was in 2020, with a handwritten letter, and although Trump initially considered the request, he did not take action. Subsequently, Exotic requested a pardon from Biden in 2021, which was also denied.

Last year, he renewed his request to Trump, obtaining the support of public figures such as Representative Lauren Boebert. However, these efforts failed to change the outcome of his conviction.