Jens Soering has been in prison since 1986 – now he should be deported to his home country of Germany. That decided the Virginia pardon body, Governor Ralph Northam said. The 53-year-old Söring should be handed over to the immigration police, deported and banned from re-entering the country.
–
The then 18-year-old Söring was accused of murdering the parents of his then girlfriend Elizabeth Haysom in Virginia in 1985. He was later arrested in Britain and extradited to the United States after a lawsuit that also involved the European Court of Human Rights. There he was sentenced to twice life imprisonment for two murders (read an interview with Soering here).
Governor Northam, however, declined an application for a full pardon. However, he said he respected the panel’s decision to fire Soering.
–
Revoke Confession
Soering initially admitted the crime, but later revoked his confession. He said he only stood to save Haysom from the death penalty. He had wrongly assumed that he was the son of a German diplomat to enjoy immunity.
The case has received a lot of attention in the United States and Germany. Soering wrote several books in prison. In 2016 the documentary “The promise” about the case was released.
Haysom had pleaded guilty to helping with the murders. The Canadian-born woman should now also be released from prison and deported to her home country.
–
