Imprisoned former zoo owner Joe Exotic, whose story formed the basis of the hit Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, is reportedly set to appeal to US president Donald Trump for a pardon.
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving a 22-year sentence in Federal prison for charges including animal abuse and murder for hire.
According to a report from TMZ, Exotic’s legal team is “preparing a case file that will be sent on to Trump”, alleging that Exotic was wrongly convicted for the plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin.
Trump had previously said that he would “take a look” at the option of pardoning Exotic, when asked about it, although it did not seem he was aware of the case, or of the Netflix True Crime documentary.
Tiger King was a huge ratings hit for the streaming service, reportedly achieving more streaming minutes during its first week of release than any other series in Netflix’s history.
There is also an eight-part TV series in the works, based on the Texas Monthly article “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild”, which has cast Nicolas Cage as the shamed zoo operator.
Given the severity of Exotic’s convictions, and the evidence working against him, it seems highly unlikely that any request for a pardon would be approved.
