Jens Söring

Jens Söring (born 1 August 1966), usually rendered in English as Jens Soering, is a German convicted double murderer.

In 1990, he was convicted in Virginia, United States of America of murdering the parents of his then-girlfriend, Elizabeth Haysom. For her role in the deaths, Haysom was convicted of two counts of accessory before the fact to murder.

In prison, Söring claimed he was not guilty. After fourteen parole requests and numerous petitions for a gubernatorial pardon - all unsuccessful - he was released on probation and deported to Germany in 2019. Söring appears on talk shows, has an exclusive contract with Netflix and uses his case in the media. In Germany, for legal reasons, Söring is not allowed to accuse his ex-girlfriend of the crime. Instead, Söring portrayed himself as a victim and critic of an unjust US justice system.

The killings took place at the Haysom residence in the Boonsboro area of Lynchburg, Virginia in March 1985. Söring (along with Elizabeth Haysom) fled the United States shortly thereafter. They were arrested in London in April 1986. His fight against extradition led to the landmark judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Soering v United Kingdom which establishes that his extradition to the USA would've been unlawful due to the prevalence of the psychological 'death row phenomenon' which would violate Article 3 of the ECHR (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment). Söring was extradited after the authorities in Bedford County gave assurances that they would not seek the death penalty.