‘A federal judge on Friday reduced Joe Exotic’s prison sentence by one year for violating federal wildlife laws and devising a murder-for-hire plot targeting controversial animal activist Carole Baskin.
According to KOCW, Exotic, 58, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, learned of his new 21-year sentence in an Oklahoma City courtroom. Exotic was originally sentenced in January 2020 to 22 to 27 years in federal prison, but his legal team argued that the two criminal counts for the murder-for-hire plot should have been combined.
Exotic’s team claimed his sentence should have been lowered by more than four years. In June 2021, a federal appeals court ruled he should have received a sentence between 17-and-a-half years and just under 22 years.
The following month, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Excotic’s sentence but affirmed his conviction. The court said it found errors in two of the 19 charges Exotic was convicted of, KOCW reported.
In late November, Exotic was transferred from Fort Worth Medical Center in Texas to Butner Medical Center in North Carolina to undergo treatment for prostate cancer. The move came months after Exotic reportedly completed a blood test that confirmed he had cancer.
Exotic has reportedly delayed his treatment until resentencing. Following Friday’s hearing, his legal team said they plan to appeal his new sentence.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Featured image: Joe Exotic/AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File]
