Joe Maldonado-Passage, known as "Tiger King" and "Joe Exotic," failed in his bid to be pardoned. Maldonado-Passage is serving a sentence at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth.
In 2019, he was convicted of a murder-for-hire plot; violating the Endangered Species Act for killing five tigers; and claiming he was donating tigers, lions and a lemur for exhibitions but actually selling them.
His lawyers say Maldonado-Passage was scheduled for release in 2037, but at 57 years old and in "compromised health," they said he was likely to die in prison.
"We disproved the government's case," says Eric Love, a member of Maldonado-Passage's legal team. "The government's case said he did all these things. Guess what? They never thought someone would go look at all this evidence."
Maldonado-Passage and his lawyers had booked a limousine to pick him up at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth. The limousine was parked outside their office Tuesday afternoon and removed by Wednesday morning.
"Most of the time, when you're running these requests through the pardon attorney, you have to add that element of how you've been rehabilitated," says lawyer and SMU professor Eric Cedillo. "That certainly might come up in terms of whether or not they're truly sorry for what happened."
President Donald Trump did issue pardons or commute the sentences of 143 people. Cedillo says requests are usually not considered until five years into a sentence. They are then presented to the Office of the Pardon Attorney and Department of Justice, which advise the president.
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"In this administration, it was a little bit different. It appears it was relatively informal. I don't think much went through the Office of the Pardon Attorney. I think it was directly to the president who made decisions," Cedillo says. "It usually isn't played up as much as this administration. We saw more visibility, looking to determine whether the president was going to pardon himself or his family. It was a different type of situation."
Among those whose sentence was commuted was James Brian Cruz. Cruz was serving a 40 year sentence in Seagoville for a drug crime. According to the White House press secretary, Cruz received letters of support from Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, several inmates and his work supervisor.
"Mr. Cruz’s work supervisor describes him as a dependable and hard-working employee, who has 'gained the respect of many staff workers and inmates alike' and who helps arguing inmates 'make peace,'" the White House wrote in a statement. "Mr. Cruz writes that he recognizes the effect drugs have on people, families, and the community, and desires a second chance to 'live life as one who upholds the law, and lives to help others.'"
Cedillo says Cruz' case is more similar to what presidential administrations typically consider.
"Being contrite in terms of what you've done, confessing your sins and saying you're sorry," he says. "That's why they wait five years. They have to show rehabilitation."