'It's time Joe Exotic gets to go home': 'Tiger King' compares himself to Brittney Griner, wants to be freed too
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Following President Joe Biden's agreement with Russia to release WNBA star Brittney Griner, Joe Exotic believes he should be the next in line, and he is pushing for his release from prison. The Griner and Trevor Reed prisoner swap, according to the 'Tiger King' star, “is a slap in every American's face that is wrongfully detained in the American Federal Prison System, including myself."
He continued to argue his case before the President, asserting his innocence and naming his former co-star Carole Baskin in the process. According to ABC News, Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was resentenced to 21 years in prison on charges of perpetrating the murder-for-hire scheme and for the killing and selling of tigers.
RELATED ARTICLES
It was claimed during his trial that he paid a hitman $3,000 to go from Oklahoma to Florida and kill animal activist Carole Baskin. Separately, it was claimed that in December 2017, he attempted to hire a hitman for $10,000 to kill Baskin, but the hitman turned out to be an undercover FBI agent. Exotic has been fighting for his release ever since Donald Trump was in the White House. "A dangerous man was released for Brittney Griner to be free. It's time Joe Exotic gets to go home for Christmas to be home with [boyfriend] Seth and his son for the first time in 5 Christmases,” he remarked in an audio obtained by TMZ.
Griner was released this week after spending over 10 months in jail as a result of a deal that saw Russia free ‘Merchant of Death’ dubber Viktor Bout in exchange for Griner release. The athlete was arrested at a Russian airport in February after officials found she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. Griner is a star with the Phoenix Mercury in the NBA, and he has won two gold medals at the Olympics. Due to her status as an openly homosexual Black woman who was imprisoned in a nation considered to be hostile to the LGBTQ community, her detention in Russia brought unparalleled attention to the population of unlawful inmates in Russia.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the swap in a statement, revealing that the exchange took place in Abu Dhabi and that Bout had been flown to his homeland. Meanwhile, Biden spoke to Griner via phone, and US officials said she would be offered specialized medical services and counseling.