The ‘People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals’ is breaking their silence on Joe Exotic’s recent legal victory, which will significantly lower his prison sentence.
PETA isn’t too worried about the news that the ‘Tiger King’ star is getting a few years shaved off of his sentence, and the reason is simple — he is still going to do 17-21 years behind bars!
According to a statement from the organizations Associate Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement, Debbie Metzler, “Joe Exotic still has many years in prison ahead of him, his convictions for gunning down five endangered tigers and other wildlife crimes stand, and the rest of his Tiger King cohorts are still poised for their own downfall, so neither PETA nor anyone else who cares about animals has anything to worry about.”
How Long Will Joe Exotic Stay In Prison?
As we reported, Joe Exotic claimed a small legal victory after his sentence in the murder-for-hire conviction was vacated following an appellate court finding the execution of the sentence was done improperly. In this case, it was ordered that the U.S. District Court for the Western District in Oklahoma City made a “technical error” by not grouping the two murder-for-hire convictions while sentencing the reality star. The original sentence — 22 years — will be corrected to reflect the proper amount of prison time. In the end, it is only shaving off a few years.
“I knew when I agreed to represent Joe that an appeal would be difficult, but I also knew that the law was on Joe’s side,” his attorney said after the victory. Adding, “I am optimistic that the decision today is but one of many more victories to come for Joe — and his eventual freedom.”
As PETA pointed out in their statement, many of Joe’s co-stars in the popular Netflix docu-series, are also facing criminal charges and other legal cases surrounding their housing of exotic animals. For instance, ‘Doc’ Antle who appeared in the series with his large elephants, is facing a felony wildlife trafficking charge, along with another felony for conspiracy to traffic wildlife. Plus, he is facing an additional 13 misdemeanor charges for crimes related to the animals.
PETA Claims Victory Over ‘Tiger King’ Stars
The organization is also celebrating an Indiana judge’s granted motion ordering roadside zoo owner, Tim Stark, to surrender all animals (excluding big cats) from Wildlife in Need by September 18. In this case, small exotic cats, primates, porcupines, foxes, wallabies, otters, bears, parrots, and owls will be placed in new homes.
Lastly, PETA is attempting to join the Department of Justice’s case against Joe Exotic’s ex-partner, Jeff Lowe, which accuses him of “illegally taking, possessing, and transporting protected animals and placing the health of animals in serious danger.” The obvious goal of the organization is to put all of the exotic zoos out of business.
