Jens Söring

Jens Söring
Born (1966-08-01) 1 August 1966
Bangkok, Thailand
Nationality German
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment
Criminal status Incarcerated at Buckingham Correctional Center in Virginia
Conviction(s) First degree murder

Jens Söring (born August 1, 1966, in Bangkok, Thailand) is a German citizen who in 1990 was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in Virginia, United States. Söring denies having committed the crime and has written a number of books about prison life and religion.

Early life and education

Jens Söring is the son of a West German diplomat.[1] He moved to the United States in 1977 and graduated from The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984.[2][3] He then matriculated at the University of Virginia and entered into a relationship with fellow student Elizabeth Haysom.[4]

Crimes, confessions and extradition

In March 1985, Haysom's parents, Derek (born 1913) and Nancy Haysom (born 1931), were murdered.[5] Six months after the murder, Söring and Haysom fled the country to England.[6][7]

Söring and Haysom were arrested on cheque fraud charges in London, England, on April 30, 1986.[8][9] Under questioning by British, American, West German and Virginia authorities, both confessed to the murders.[6]

Haysom waived extradition.[10] Söring fought extradition (Soering v United Kingdom) and, when the United States agreed not to pursue the death penalty, he was involuntarily extradited to the United States on January 12, 1990.[8]

Trial and conviction

Haysom pleaded guilty and then testified against Söring.[11] At trial, Haysom testified that Söring committed the murders and that she was an accessory to the crime.[12][13][14][11]

At his Virginia trial, Söring withdrew his confession and explained that Haysom committed the murders and that he confessed in order to prevent Haysom from being sentenced to death and execution in the electric chair. Söring later claimed to have assumed he would be extradited to Germany due to his father's diplomatic immunity and be sentenced according to local juvenile criminal law to a sentence of less than 10 years.[15]

According to the prosecution, Söring committed the murders and Haysom was the instigator. Although there were neither eyewitnesses nor usable DNA or fingerprints of Söring at the scene, the jury found him guilty on grounds of circumstantial evidence and his initial confession. Despite his later retraction of his confession, he mentioned that the killing involved a knife, that the Haysoms were drinking, and other details that were consistent with the facts. Söring was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.[16]

Haysom was sentenced to 90 years imprisonment (one 45-year sentence for each murder, to be served consecutively).[17][18] She has a mandatory release date in 2032 when she will be 68 years old.[9]

In 2009, the 42 pieces of DNA evidence from the crime scene were tested (technology was previously not sufficiently advanced). None of the 42 DNA pieces were from Söring.[19]

Legal claims

Söring's ten applications for early release from prison (the latest in October 2014) have been rejected, as were all requests for transfer to a prison in Germany.[20] In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his appeal. Söring quarreled with his father at that time and has not spoken with him since then.

Life in prison

Söring is currently serving his sentence at the Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn, Virginia. While in prison, he converted from Buddhism to Roman Catholicism.[21]

Publications

Söring has published several books and articles while incarcerated. In 2007, his book The Convict Christ was awarded first prize by the Catholic Press Association of North America in the category, "Social Concerns."[22]

The Promise Documentary 2016

The Promise – the story of Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom (Original title in German: Das Versprechen) is a German documentary film directed by Marcus Vetter. The film tells the Crime story of the double murder of Derek and Nancy Haysom on 30 March 1985 in Lynchburg, Virginia. The film focuses on the two main protagonists Jens Soering, son of a German diplomat, and Elizabeth Haysom, the daughter of the murdered couple. Both were sentenced to life in prison. The film makes use of extensive original footage from press archives as the two court cases of were the first lawsuits to be broadcast nationwide on American television. In the film these recordings from 1985 to 1990 are combined with scenes shot in today's time, including interviews with the main protagonist Jens Soering, witnesses, the investigators involved in the case, lawyers, prosecutors and journalists. In addition extensive materials like original crime scene photos and evidence, court transcripts, newspaper archives, love letters and diaries of the main protagonists were evaluated in the film.

The film will be released in 2016.


References

  1. ↑ http://www.roanoke.com/webmin/news/soering-trial-full-of-culture-shocks/article_7499fd2b-bd49-588e-a356-2d32f85eda52.html
  2. ↑ http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1989/West-German-Wins-Fight-Against-Extradition-to-the-United-States/id-9ed769caa03b0a6fc0c0151ed91cf246
  3. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/08/24/pair-accused-in-murders-shared-paths/38929992-7c14-49df-9cc0-194024c82396/
  4. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/08/24/pair-accused-in-murders-shared-paths/38929992-7c14-49df-9cc0-194024c82396/
  5. ↑ Keith Humphry (28 February 2011). "Jens Soering: His life behind bars". WDBJ. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 "After Conviction In Va., Soering Awaits Sentence". Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Donald P. Baker (10 December 1996). "DIPLOMAT'S SON BACK IN COURT". Washington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Former Virginia student extradited on murder charges". UPI. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  9. 1 2 "No hope for Jens Soering (Part 2)". The Virginian-Pilot. 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  10. ↑ Christine M. Johnson (10 January 1990). "Soering to be extradited on murder charges". UPI. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Murder Case Takes on Air of Shakespeare". Associated Press News Archive. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "Was Accessory in Murders of Parents, Heiress Admits". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "HAYSOM SAYS BOYFRIEND KILLED PARENTS". Washington Post. 14 June 1990. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  14. ↑ "Girlfriend Describes Plot With Lover To Kill Parents". Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  15. ↑ "McDonnell rejects latest appeal from Soering". The Washington Times. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  16. ↑ Noreen Turyn (25 June 2014). "Elizabeth Haysom Denied Parole". WSET. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  17. ↑ Dirk Beveridge (9 October 1987). "DAUGHTER IS SENTENCED TO 90 YEARS FOR ROLE IN VA. SLAYING OF PARENTS". Washington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "Soering's ex says he is guilty; new letter sent to governor". The Daily Progress. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  19. ↑ Marc Pitzke, "Deutscher in US-Haft: 'Ich sehne mich nach dem ewigen deutschen Nörgeln'", Spiegel, February 28, 2012 (http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/0,1518,817151,00.html)
  20. ↑ "Murderer Jens Soering's parole spurned again by Virginia". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  21. ↑ Jens Soering, The Convict Christ: What the Gospel Says About Criminal Justice. Orbis Books, Maryknoll, N.Y. 2006, ISBN 1-57075-648-1.
  22. ↑ "Jens Soering". lanternbooks.com. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  23. ↑ Peter Wagner. "An Expensive Way to Make Bad People Worse: An Essay on Prison reform from an Insider’s Perspective, book review". prisonpolicy.org. Retrieved 3 September 2015.

External links


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