Jens Söring
| Jens Söring | |
|---|---|
| Born |
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.
Jens Söring is the son of a West German diplomat. He moved to the United States in 1977 and graduated from The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. He then matriculated at the University of Virginia and entered into a relationship with fellow student Elizabeth Haysom.
In March 1985, Haysom's parents, Derek (born 1913) and Nancy Haysom (born 1931), were murdered. Six months after the murder, Söring and Haysom fled the country to England.
Söring and Haysom were arrested on cheque fraud charges in London, England, on April 30, 1986. Under questioning by British, American, West German and Virginia authorities, both confessed to the murders.
Haysom waived extradition. 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.
Haysom pleaded guilty and then testified against Söring. At trial, Haysom testified that Söring committed the murders and that she was an accessory to the crime.
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.
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.
Haysom was sentenced to 90 years imprisonment (one 45-year sentence for each murder, to be served consecutively). She has a mandatory release date in 2032 when she will be 68 years old.
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