Va. House OKs resolution opposing Soering

By Michael Sluss

RICHMOND

The House of Delegates on Tuesday passed a resolution supporting Gov. Bob McDonnell's efforts to block the transfer of convicted double-murderer Jens Soering to a prison in his native Germany.

Soering is serving two life sentences for the 1985 stabbing deaths of his girlfriend's parents, Derek and Nancy Haysom, in their Bedford County home. Former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine authorized Soering's transfer in a letter sent to the U.S. Justice Department on Jan. 12, four days before he left office. McDonnell later revoked Virginia's consent for the transfer from Brunswick Correctional Center, but the Justice Department has not indicated how it will handle the matter.

Under terms of an agreement with the German government and judiciary, Soering, the son of a former German diplomat, would remain imprisoned in Germany for at least two years before becoming eligible for a suspension of his sentence. He could not attempt to return to the United States after his transfer.

Senate Joint Resolution 149, sponsored by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, declares support for McDonnell's revocation. The resolution cleared the Senate last month and was passed by a vote of 97-0 in the House on Tuesday.

Del. Lacey Putney, I-Bedford, spoke for the resolution on the floor, saying the prospect of Soering's transfer had been greeted with outrage by many in the community where the Haysoms had lived.

"I have not experienced such a rash of concern and disappointment from my constituents in all the years I've been in this body," said Putney, who has served in the House since 1962.