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As Joe Exotic of "Tiger King" fame was resentenced Friday to 21 years in prison, animal activist Carole Baskin, whom Exotic was convicted of trying to kill, was also in attendance.
Exotic, a former Oklahoma zookeeper whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2020 after being convicted of hiring two men to kill Baskin in a case that was popularized in the Netflix docu-series "Tiger King," according to the Associated Press.He was also convicted of killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying wildlife records.
At the Friday hearing, Exotic, 58, asked U.S. District Judge Scott Palk to lessen the sentence because of his health conditions, which include prostate cancer, The Oklahoman reported.
"Please don't make me die in prison waiting for a chance to be free," he said, reportedly while in tears. However, Palk decided to only take a year off of the sentence, The Oklahoman added.
In an email to Newsweek, Baskin said she believed the sentence to be fair.
"I believe the tigers he bred for life in prison, or worse, would be satisfied to know he will continue to spend his next many years in a cage," Baskin wrote.
Baskin and her husband attended the hearing, and she provided the court with a victim statement, obtained by The Oklahoman, in which she said she feared if Exotic was released from prison, he would continue to target her and her family.
In her statement, she said that while the former zookeeper seemed apologetic at his first sentencing in January 2020, making statements like, "I know I made mistakes and I know what I have done is wrong, and I know it will never happen again," his actions did not reflect these words.
She continued by citing "derogatory statements" he made about her on social media after the sentencing that either "accuse me of crimes" or "are threatening in nature."
"A prisoner who spent a year in jail living with Mr. Maldonado-Passage has told us that this daily ranting continued even after his incarceration, including expressing his desire to have me killed," Baskin said. "I live with concerns about his continued behavior toward me to this day."
She also argued that Exotic's newfound "Tiger King" fame would give him more resources to harm her should he be released.
Since the Netflix show rose in prominence in 2020 and came back to the public's attention with a second season last year, many have been campaigning to have Exotic freed.
The AP report said his supporters "packed the courtroom" Friday, some wearing animal print masks and T-shirts reading "Free Joe Exotic."
John Phillips, Exotic's attorney, shared a statement from his client with Fox News earlier this month in which Exotic asked for money to "pay that b---- Carole Baskin back," saying he received "bad advice" from his lawyers to agree to the original judgment.
"Please help. Let's pay that f---ing b---- back and get me back," he wrote. "Carole, give it to the animals. Use it to clean up that mess in Tampa, not to pay off politicians."
According to the AP, Exotic's attorneys said they would appeal the resentencing and petition for a new trial.
Phillips did not immediately respond to Newsweek's requests for comment.
