Despite his best efforts, Joe Exotic has made little headway in getting himself freed from prison. But finally the star of Netflix's Tiger King has caught himself a lucky break.
The federal appeals court in Exotic's case has just upheld his conviction for murder-for-hire, which means he isn't now suddenly getting out of prison. However, TMZ does point out that the decision comes with a shining silver lining — Joe Exotic's 22-year sentence has now been vacated.
This means that his original sentence has effectively been thrown out, and Exotic will be resentenced — now by a lower court, which could in turn give him a shorter sentence.
The ruling came after the appeals court reviewed Exotic's case and determined 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 at his sentencing.
But while this is a definite win for Joe Exotic and his legal team, it's not all roses. After all, Exotic was found guilty of the very serious charge of murder-for-hire, so he still could be looking at a new sentence that ranges from 17 to 21 years, TMZ reports.
That said, Joe Exotic's legal team is now celebrating.
"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," lawyer Brandon Sample told TMZ. "I am optimistic that the decision today is but one of many more victories to come for Joe — and his eventual freedom."
Earlier today, we also learned that Nicolas Cage will no longer be starring as Joe Exotic in a scripted series for Amazon, which has now scraped the project. However, we still have a second season of Tiger King, and Peacock is still developing a scripted Tiger King series that will star John Cameron Mitchell as Joe Exotic and Kate McKinnon as Carole Baskin, as well as Kyle MacLachlan as Howard Baskin.
The federal appeals court in Exotic's case has just upheld his conviction for murder-for-hire, which means he isn't now suddenly getting out of prison. However, TMZ does point out that the decision comes with a shining silver lining — Joe Exotic's 22-year sentence has now been vacated.
This means that his original sentence has effectively been thrown out, and Exotic will be resentenced — now by a lower court, which could in turn give him a shorter sentence.
The ruling came after the appeals court reviewed Exotic's case and determined 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 at his sentencing.
But while this is a definite win for Joe Exotic and his legal team, it's not all roses. After all, Exotic was found guilty of the very serious charge of murder-for-hire, so he still could be looking at a new sentence that ranges from 17 to 21 years, TMZ reports.
That said, Joe Exotic's legal team is now celebrating.
"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," lawyer Brandon Sample told TMZ. "I am optimistic that the decision today is but one of many more victories to come for Joe — and his eventual freedom."
Earlier today, we also learned that Nicolas Cage will no longer be starring as Joe Exotic in a scripted series for Amazon, which has now scraped the project. However, we still have a second season of Tiger King, and Peacock is still developing a scripted Tiger King series that will star John Cameron Mitchell as Joe Exotic and Kate McKinnon as Carole Baskin, as well as Kyle MacLachlan as Howard Baskin.
