The prison holding Tiger KingstarJoe Exotic has responded to claims made by the subject of Netflix‘s hit documentary.
Exotic released a statement earlier this week that said love letters sent by his husband, Dillon Passage, were being kept from him.
The statement also saw Exotic say he believes he will be dead “in two-three months” after alleging he has not received required “blood infusions” since January.
“It’s like I have been send [sic] to Death Row,” Exotic wrote. “They stopped all of my medication except one. This place is hell on earth.”
Passage himself responded to the claims in an Instagram post reading: “My heart is breaking after reading Joe’s letter. He is living in hell right now and I’m outraged by the way he is being treated. I can’t even begin to imagine how that is breaking his spirit. I love Joe and I’m standing by him.”
However, the Bureau of Prisons has denied keeping Passage’s letters from Exotic despite recently incurring a lockdown at Fort Worth in Texas.
‘On 1 June, in light of extensive protest activity occurring around the country, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) – in an abundance of caution – implemented a national lockdown,’ a spokesperson said in a statement.
“These additional, temporary security measures were implemented to ensure the good order and security of our institutions, as well as ensure the safety of staff and inmates.”
The spokesperson said that while Exotic’s “access to telephones and electronic communication was limited... inmate mail through the US Postal Service was collected and delivered regularly”.
They had no comments to make about Exotic’s claims about his health.
Exotic is currently serving 22 years in prison for crimes that include animal killing as well as attempting to hire a hitman to kill his zoo rival Carole Baskin.
The tiger breeder has always said he is innocent, and recently said he “refuses to accept defeat” after a judge ruled he hand his GW Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Oklahoma over to Baskin.
