Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell acted within his authority when he decided that the son of a former German diplomat should not be allowed to return to his home country after being convicted of killing his girlfriend’s parents in 1985, a Richmond Circuit Court ruled Thursday.
The ruling guarantees that Jens Soering, who received two life sentences for his part in the brutal double-murder of Derek and Nancy Haysom in their Bedford County home, will serve out his sentence in a Virginia prison.
Soering’s transfer to Germany had been approved in 2010 by then-Gov. Tim Kaine in one of Kaine’s last official acts in office. But McDonnell, his successor, immediately revoked the request. Soering sued to overturn McDonnell’s decision, but Thursday’s court decision clarified that McDonnell acted within his authority.
“Jens Soering committed a heinous and gruesome crime when he killed two innocent Virginians,” McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said. “[McDonnell] is pleased to see the court agree with his authority to take that action in order to ensure that justice will be served in this case.”
Soering has long maintained his innocence, insisting his confessions to police were made only to protect girlfriend Elizabeth Haysom from receiving the death penalty. Soering said he thought he had diplomatic immunity.
In 2011, McDonnell rejected a request from Soering’s lawyers to recommend parole and allow Soering to return to Germany.
The politically sensitive case has dogged Kaine, now a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Kaine approved the transfer to Germany to spare Virginia taxpayers an additional cost of Soering’s lengthy incarceration and said he had assurances from German officials that Soering would not be let off lightly.
Kaine’s Republican opponent in the Senate race, George Allen, has repeatedly used the high-profile case to paint Kaine as soft on crime.
The U.S. Department of Justice has said it would not intervene in the case and believed McDonnell had the authority to revoke the transfer recommendation.
