Photo: Santa Rose County Jail
Last week, 'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic was flown to a special medical facility in North Carolina for federal inmates with serious health issues. Joe, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, recently revealed he had been diagnosed with an "aggressive" prostate cancer. The 58-year-old had been at a different medical facility in Fort Worth, Texas for initial tests, but after biopsies showed he had two cancerous areas, he was moved to North Carolina.
Joe's lawyer, John Phillips, said in a statement that Exotic is "undergoing further testing" for "a host of issues." He added that Joe is not getting the best treatment because prison medical care "isn't the best and justice is slow." Joe is serving a 22-year sentence for violating the Endangered Species Act and for a murder-for-hire attempt on animal rights activist Carole Baskin.
It's not all bad news for Joe though - in July, a federal appeals court ruled that he should be resentenced, noting that the trial court counted his convictions separately when figuring out his prison term when they should have been jointly considered. The court suggested his sentence should be between 17.5 and 22 years, as opposed to between 22 and 27 years. He is waiting on that resentencing.
Meanwhile, you can now watch the second season of Tiger King, which focuses on Joe's fight to be freed from prison. It debuted on Netflix last week.
As for Joe, when he announced his diagnosis, he stated, "Right now I don't want anyone's pity and I'm sure Carole will have her own party over this!'