Carole's husband Howard says they are willing to support Joe's early release if he will put his support behind the Big Cat Public Safety Act and stop breeding tigers.
- April 22, 2021
AceShowbiz - Joe Exotic has let Carole Baskin and her husband lend a hand to him. Upon learning that his nemesis and Howard Baskin would help reduce his time in prison if he supports the Big Cat Public Safety Act, the "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness" leading man accepted their offer.
"It is time for Carole and Howard to put up or shut the hell up because I'm accepting their offer," the 58-year-old told Entertainment Tonight. "And I'm gonna take it one step further than that, OK? It is time to get on the phone to President Biden or whoever they need to that they've got in their little financial pocket and say, 'Hey, Joe is willing to support a big cat bill to help protect cats in America from being exploited.' "
" 'But we need to keep our end of the deal and get Joe a pardon because this wasn't really about murder for hire or shooting five tigers -- this was about exploiting Joe to support Carole's agenda,' " the former Oklahoma zoo owner continued. "So, there's the offer on the table, all right?"
Joe, who is serving a 22-year prison sentence after being convicted of animal abuse and a murder-for-hire plot against Carole, went on to address the Big Cat Public Safety Act. The bill, which prohibits people from possessing tigers, lions, leopards and other big cats, was passed by the House of Representatives in December 2020. However, he thought that it would help nobody "except PETA and Carole Baskin."
"I'll testify in front of the Senate, I'll testify in front of the House, they want to end big cats in America and they want to end the exploitation of them, I'm the man to do it. But it's time to get an attorney general down here and listen to the evidence that I have to prove I'm innocent and get me the hell out of here. And they've got my support," he stressed. "Other than that, they need to stay the hell out of the news with all their crap just to get their name in the paper because I just called their bluff."
This came after Carole's husband, Howard, told Mirror, "If Joe were to come out and say, 'I now know what I did was wrong and I want to help. I would like to support passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act and stop this breeding.' If he were to do that, it might position him in a positive way for a pardon." He added, "And frankly, I might be willing to go and urge at least a reduction in his sentence."
