by: Ashley Moss/KFOR
Posted: Nov 23, 2023 / 06:30 AM CST
Updated: Nov 23, 2023 / 06:36 AM CST
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Joe Exotic’s hopes for a new trial have been dashed after a judge denied his bid.
In the document, filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, the ruling notes that the arguments for a new trial “have no connection to newly discovered evidence,” and were “underdeveloped and merit little discussion.”
The former Oklahoma zookeeper and one-time presidential candidate was previously sentenced to more than twenty years in prison for wildlife crimes and an attempted murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin.
However, Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado, maintained his conviction was an elaborate plot against him, in a January 2023 interview with the station:
JOE EXOTIC: “Nowhere do they have evidence that I offered them $10,000. I asked him how much. He said $10,000. I said, Well, I don’t have $10,000”
JOE EXOTIC: “Every time I’d just use the excuse ‘well, I have to wait until I have more baby tigers born’ because that was my excuse to say no.“
In his appeal, he claimed a multitude of grievances, from “instances of perjury” to allegations of “outrageous government misconduct” and “prosecutorial misconduct.”
But in a more than 70-page court document filed Tuesday, a motion of denial ruled the arguments for a new trial were exaggerations, while saying the Tiger King’s own words were indicative of his intent:
“the most credible and damning evidence of Defendant’s intent was his own words.”
The Court found that Joe Exotic’s allegations were “incapable of overcoming the strong, credible evidence of guilt against him” and also noted that the jury returned a “reasonable and just verdict.”
Download Judge Palk's denial order of both motions here: