The attorney for Tiger King’s Joe Exotic held a press conference this week to claim that his client was wrongly convicted of a murder-for-hire scheme.
Attorney Levi G. McCathern claimed that Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was wrongfully convicted and should be released from a prison hospital in Fort Worth, pointing to three pieces of information as to why these allegations are false.
The plea for Exotic’s freedom came as President Joe Biden handed out more commutations in his waning days in office before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in for a second time on Monday.
McCathern stated in a press release prior to the conference that Exotic has “had a target on his back for years,” explaining that the charges came from “collusion between federal agencies and their so-called ‘informants’ who were known felons and fraudsters themselves, and were compensated with cash and luxury items is undeniable.”
“Entrapment, coerced testimonies, and political prosecution have culminated in a 21-year, disproportionate sentence for a man who has already served over seven years. This stops now.”
McCathern then said during the 11-minute press conference that Exotic was already incarcerated when Netflix’s Tiger King aired on March 20, 2020, claiming that the allegations “made for a better television show.”
The claims presented by McCathern that Exotic is innocent featured several key points, with the first being that “no one was killed, no one was paid, and no one except for Joe was ever charged.”
“That includes the alleged hitman. That doesn’t make any sense,” continued McCathern.
The second piece of information that McCathern pointed to revolved around the witnesses that testified against Exotic in the case, with the attorney claiming that all three witnesses were given deals under the table.
“These deals were not written. They weren’t documented deals. They were promised deals and you can see the effects. You can see the effect today simply from the fact that none of these individuals have been charged with any of the crimes related to this,” he said.
McCathern claimed that Exotic should be free due to the government involvement in the case, claiming that the case was “orchestrated by others and the government was the conductor of that orchestra.”
These claims of innocence revolve around charges that Exotic hired a hitman to kill Carole Baskin, an owner of a rival animal sanctuary.
Allegations from this case state that Exotic told a hitman, who was an undercover agent, to “cap her and drive off,” though he claims that this statement was never meant to be taken seriously, per BBC.