Joe Exotic’s conviction and appeals ended at the U.S. Supreme Court on March 30, 2026, when the justices declined to hear his case and left in place a 21-year federal prison sentence for two murder-for-hire counts and 17 wildlife crimes. Joseph Maldonado-Passage, the former Oklahoma zookeeper made famous by Netflix’s Tiger King, was convicted by a federal jury in 2019, resentenced once, and denied a new trial before exhausting his direct appellate options.1SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Tiger King Appeal
What He Was Convicted Of
A jury in the Western District of Oklahoma found Maldonado-Passage guilty on all 21 counts of his federal indictment in 2019. Two counts charged him with using interstate facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire plot targeting Carole Baskin, the Florida big cat sanctuary operator who had won roughly $1 million in civil judgments against him.2Courthouse News Service. 10th Circuit Overturns Tiger King’s Sentence3Time. Carole Baskin Lawsuit
The remaining 19 counts covered wildlife crimes: nine violations of the Endangered Species Act and eight violations of the Lacey Act, plus two additional counts tied to the murder-for-hire scheme. Trial evidence showed he had shot and killed five endangered tigers to free up cage space, sold tiger cubs in interstate commerce, and falsified records for 13 animals by labeling sales of lions and tigers as “donations for exhibition only” to get around legal requirements.4UNODC SHERLOC. United States v. Maldonado-Passage
The Murder-for-Hire Evidence
Prosecutors presented two separate plots. In the first, Maldonado-Passage paid a zoo employee named Allen Glover $3,000 in 2017 to travel to Florida and murder Baskin. Glover never carried out the plan.5The Oklahoman. Tiger King Joe Exotic Wants New Trial
In the second, a government informant named James Garretson arranged a meeting between Maldonado-Passage and an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman. During a secretly recorded meeting in December 2017, Maldonado-Passage offered the agent $10,000 to kill Baskin. Those recordings became central evidence at trial.6BBC News. Joe Exotic Resentencing
The Original 22-Year Sentence
In January 2020, a federal judge sentenced Maldonado-Passage to 264 months, or 22 years, in prison across all 21 counts.7Justia. United States v. Maldonado-Passage, No. 20-6010
The Tenth Circuit Appeal
His first appeal reached the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 2021. In a ruling issued on July 14, 2021, the court upheld all 21 convictions. It found no reversible error in the jury’s verdicts.
The sentence was a different matter. The Tenth Circuit held that the trial court had miscalculated the guidelines by failing to group the two murder-for-hire counts together, since both counts targeted the same victim. The panel vacated the sentence and sent the case back to the district court for resentencing.7Justia. United States v. Maldonado-Passage, No. 20-6010
Resentencing to 21 Years
The resentencing hearing took place on January 28, 2022. Defense counsel argued for a substantial reduction, citing Maldonado-Passage’s November 2021 prostate cancer diagnosis and his compromised immune system. Prosecutors pointed to recent disciplinary problems in prison, including a September 2021 infraction involving a contraband cellphone. Baskin testified that she remained fearful, citing what she described as his continued “ill will” and his growing public following after the Netflix series.8NPR. Tiger King Joe Exotic Gets One Year Knocked Off His 22-Year Prison Sentence
The judge cut one year from the sentence. The new term was 21 years.9NBC News. Tiger King Joe Exotic Set for Resentencing
The Motion for a New Trial
Maldonado-Passage’s team then shifted to a different attack, filing a motion for a new trial under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33. The motion rested on affidavits from three key prosecution witnesses who claimed to be recanting or supplementing their trial testimony.
Allen Glover submitted an affidavit claiming that Jeff Lowe, Maldonado-Passage’s former business partner, had “created the entire murder-for-hire plot” and that federal agents had coached his testimony. Garretson, the informant, claimed he had been promised immunity that was never disclosed to the defense. Jeff and Lauren Lowe submitted affidavits alleging that agents had pressured them and assured them protection from prosecution in exchange for their cooperation.10U.S. Supreme Court. Maldonado-Passage Cert Petition
The defense argued that these undisclosed inducements amounted to constitutional violations under Brady v. Maryland and Giglio v. United States, both of which require prosecutors to turn over favorable evidence and impeachment material to the defense.
The district court denied the motion without holding an evidentiary hearing. It found the recantations unreliable because they contradicted the witnesses’ own sworn trial testimony. On July 9, 2025, the Tenth Circuit affirmed. The panel held that the new evidence was unlikely to have changed the outcome at trial and that the trial judge, having watched the witnesses testify, was best positioned to weigh their credibility.11U.S. Supreme Court. Maldonado-Passage Application for Extension of Time
Supreme Court Denial
Maldonado-Passage filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to review the denial of his new trial motion. The federal government waived its right to respond, and the Court did not request a response, both signals that the justices saw nothing in the petition worth hearing.
On March 30, 2026, the Court denied certiorari without comment.1SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Tiger King Appeal The 21-year sentence remained in place, and his direct appellate options were effectively exhausted.12Courthouse News Service. Supreme Court Denies Tiger King’s Petition for New Trial
Where He Stands Now
Maldonado-Passage is held at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth. His earliest possible release date is October 30, 2030, and his projected full-sentence release date is March 18, 2036.13Fox 4 News. Joe Exotic Prison Tiger King New Evidence
He was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer in November 2021 and was transferred for a period to the Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina for treatment.14The Hill. Tiger King Joe Exotic Moved to Medical Facility After Cancer Diagnosis By early 2025 he reported that his prostate cancer was out of remission and that he had also been diagnosed with lung cancer.15People. Where Is Joe Exotic Now As of July 2025, he said the cancer had spread to his lungs and possibly his ribs and that he was awaiting a PET scan. No formal compassionate release motion based on his cancer diagnoses has been publicly reported.16New York Post. Joe Exotic Says He Will Die in Prison Unless Trump Pardons Him
With the courts closed to him, a presidential pardon is the only remaining avenue for early release. He sent a handwritten letter to the White House during Trump’s first term in September 2020, but his name was not on the final list of 73 pardons Trump issued on January 20, 2021.17CBS News. Joe Exotic No Trump Pardon He unsuccessfully sought clemency from President Biden in 2021. After Trump’s return to office, he renewed the effort, reaching out to then-Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz and later to Pam Bondi.18KOCO. Joe Exotic Pardon Trump AG Pam Bondi Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado publicly voiced support for a pardon, calling him a “fantastic unifier,” though she has not introduced formal legislation.19Newsweek. Lauren Boebert Joe Exotic Tiger King Pardon He has said publicly that he believes he will die in prison without a presidential pardon.16New York Post. Joe Exotic Says He Will Die in Prison Unless Trump Pardons Him