Double-murderer Jens Soering won’t be transferred to Germany after all.
In a letter to Gov. Bob McDonnell, in which he objected to then Gov. Kaine’s decision to have Soering extradited, the United States Attorney General Eric Holder stated that the U.S. Justice Department “will not proceed with consideration of the transfer of a state prisoner without the clear and unambiguous consent of the responsible state to such a transfer,” he writes.
“Accordingly, unless and until such consent is provided by the Commonwealth of Virginia in the case of Jen Soering, we will not proceed with consideration of his application to transfer.”
While Kaine made the announcement on his last day in office, newly elected Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli fired back. “While Governor Kaine appears to have the authority to take this action, I am disappointed that he would exercise that authority in this way. We hope the Department of Justice will not approve the transfer and Soering will serve his sentence in the commonwealth."
McDonnell, along with Cuccinelli, withdrew Kaine’s consent to send Soering to Germany, where he could have applied for parole after two years.
Soering, then a UVA student, is serving time for the 1985 double murders of Derek and Nancy Haysom, parents of his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Haysom. She is also serving time in the Fluvanna women’s prison.