In a statement Tuesday, Governor Bob McDonnell (R) confirmed that he will not intervene in the request for parole by Jens Soering, a former Jefferson scholar at UVA who was convicted of a double homicide in 1990.
Former Governor Tim Kaine (D) previously asked the U.S. Department of Justice to approve Soering’s transfer from Virginia to his native Germany, where Soering could have been eligible for parole after two years in prison. McDonnell’s decision falls in line with Republican opinion on the Soering case, and reflects a growing effort by the GOP to portray Kaine as weak on crime in the upcoming 2012 Senate race.
At the request of Soering’s attorney, McDonnell reviewed the request for parole. “Nothing in the information provided by Soering or his attorney provides any basis for me to doubt the judgment of the jury in this case or the veracity of Soering’s own confessions,” responded McDonnell.
Soering and former girlfriend Elizabeth Haysom were convicted of killing Haysom’s parents in 1985 after the victims asked their daughter to end her relationship with Soering. According to reports, Soering confessed to the murders, but later recanted his statements and maintains that he is innocent. He is currently serving two life sentences, while Elizabeth Haysom is serving a 90-year term at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women.
Haysom, who refused to comment on the case for over 20 years, recently wrote to the Associated Press and disputed Soering’s claims of innocence.
“He is right to blame me. I involved him in a horrible crime,” wrote Haysom. “The bottom line however is that we are equally responsible for the murder of my parents. And we both deserve incarceration.”