Jens Soering Media Kit

The Case of Jens Soering Media Kit
A Double Murder.
A Promise.
A Political Drama.
The Story You Never Heard...
A new book and recent documentary explore the shocking

story of the tragedy of misplaced love, a catastrophic
confession, and a miscarriage of justice.
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CONTACT
Media Liaison:
Beth Karas
Email: beth@bethkaras.com
Cell: 646-306-4000
WEB LINKS
Jens Soering Official Website: www.jenssoering.com
The Promise (documentary): www.promise-movie.com
A Far, Far Better Thing (book): www.lanternbooks.com
Friends of Jens YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/FriendsOfJens1?feature=mhee
Jens Soering Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/j.soering
Books and Articles by Jens Soering:
http://jenssoering.com/publications
This media kit was produced by supporters for the

release of Jens Soering.
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Contents
Fighting for the Light in the Darkest Places............................ 2
From the Book Foreword by Martin Sheen............................. 3
Announcing New Book and New Documentary Release........ 4
Case Overview........................................................................ 5

Did a Fatal Attraction Lead to a Wrongful Conviction?.. ... 6
Unique Aspects of the Soering Case................................. 7
Timeline of the Soering Case.................................................. 8

The Story............................................................................... 11
The Protagonists.................................................................... 17
Quotes from Protagonists in the Jens Soering Case............. 24
Those Available for Interview.. .............................................. 26
The Book: A Far, Far Better Thing......................................... 29

Press Release................................................................... 31
The Documentary: The Promise............................................ 33

Press Release................................................................... 35
Media Spotlight..................................................................... 37

Sampling of Recent Media Coverage.............................. 39
Fighting for the Light in the Darkest Places

A Personal Vision Statement from Jens Soering
I want and need my life and my suffering to have meaning.
It can only acquire meaning if I make my story not just about
myself, but use it to help others. That is the only point of our
existence. We are here to bear one anothers burdens, to love
one another.
Over the course of the last 30 years, my life has developed
three themes that I have attempted to put into practice both in
my existence behind bars and in my work as a writer: criminal
justice reform, the inward journey, and inspiring others by
telling stories that communicate the central values of a good
and meaningful life.
My 2004 and 2008 books dealt with criminal justice reform;
my 2003 book encouraged readers to engage in meditative
prayer; and my 2006, 2012, and 2017 books used the
narrative form to show readers the light and humanity that can
be found even in the darkest, most hopeless places and situations.*
I have been doing this work day by day even in prison, building community and developing friendships
on both sides of the razor wire fences. I see no reason to stop after my release.
Given the specifics of my own life journey, it makes sense for me to focus in future on the estimated 4
percent of prisoners who are innocent. Nationwide 92,000 men and women are serving time for crimes
they did not commit, and I want to use my case to bring attention to them.
What allowed me to survive the nightmare of wrongful incarceration was a decision in early 2000 to
dedicate myself to a daily practice of Centering Prayer, a form of meditation. In future, I will continue to
emphasize the importance of the inward journey, seeking peace and meaning within. My experience
has been that this inward turn, ironically, leads to community and friendship, the most important factors
in my own survival.
Finally, as an author, I have found that communicating values like those above is achieved most
effectively by telling engaging and exciting stories of individuals who have put them into practice. My
own story is only one of many I have related in my books; there are so many others yet to be told.
I have spent 30 years fighting for the light in the darkest places, and I have survived. Now I would like to
help and perhaps even inspire others who are struggling to keep the light alive in their own lives.
*Books referenced here: An Expensive Way to Make Bad People Worse (2004), The Church of the Second Chance (2008), The Way of
the Prisoner (2003), The Convict Christ (2006), One Day in the Life of 179212 (2012), A Far, Far Better Thing (2017).
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From the Book Foreword by Martin Sheen

Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award-winning Actor
My first encounter with Jens Soering came by way of his
extraordinary book The Convict Christ (2006), a twentyfirst-century North American take on liberation theology.
Although I had heard of Soering from several Catholic
social-justice activists, including our mutual friend Bishop
Walter Sullivan of Richmond, Virginia, I did not know any of
the details of his case.
Not many people in prison write books to begin with, let
alone people serving life sentences. So with my interest
piqued, I began a correspondence with Soering and a
friendship developed.
Soering had been incarcerated since 1986 for a crime he
clearly did not commit. Nevertheless, he found a way to
unite the will of the spirit with the work of the flesh to become
a powerful voice for prison reform and an advocate for the
more than two million men and women lost in the maze of the American prison-industrial complex.
His next book was the uniquely revealing One Day in the Life of 179212 (2012), a personal
prison diary written at Brunswick Correctional Center in Lawrenceville, Virginia, where Soering
escorts the reader through a typical day. But obviously there is nothing at all typical about a
single minute of it, and despite struggling to survive in such a dark and degrading place, Soering
again projects compassion, intelligence, and a deep spiritualityalong with his indefatigable
sense of humor. Dare I mention there is even a mysterious level of enviable joy escaping between
the lines, despite the strict control of the prisons security system, and we are left to wonder?
From Brunswick, Soering was transferred to Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn, Virginia,
where he continues serving time, and it is from here that this most recent work, A Far, Far Better
Thing, emerges to command our attention. Despite the power and grace of his earlier works, it
is only this book that spells out in minute detail and scrupulous honesty every aspect of his case,
including new evidence and DNA analysis so compelling that a new trial is warranted at the very
least. A Far, Far Better Thing appears here in tandem with The Evidence by Bill Sizemore, who
presents an equally compelling case for Soerings innocence and release.
With this foreword it is my purpose to join the ever-growing number of knowledgeable and
conscientious advocates supporting Jens Soerings immediate release from prison and repatriation to
Germany. Anything less would add to the horrible and continuing miscarriage of justice dealt to him
so long ago.
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Announcing New Book and

New Documentary Release
with Interviews Available
Lantern Books announces the upcoming release of:
A Far, Far Better Thing
by Jens Soering
and
Bill Sizemore (Pulitizer-finalist journalist)
Book Release date: March 15, 2017
PDF available now by request
Filmperspektive announces the release of the documentary film

The Promise: The Story of Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom
A film by Marcus Vetter and Karin Steinberger
Film Release (Europe): January 2017
BBC Serialized Version Release (UK): March 2017
Film Release (USA): TBA
Online link for viewing available now by request
Media Contact:
Beth Karas
Cell: 646-306-4000
www.jenssoering.com
www.promise-movie.com
www.lanternbooks.com
jenssoering . com
Case Overview
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Did a Fatal Attraction Lead to a Wrongful Conviction?

In 1985, socialites Derek and Nancy Haysom were found brutally stabbed to death in their home in
Boonsboro, Virginia. When suspicion turned to the Haysoms beautiful but troubled daughter, Elizabeth,
and her German boyfriend of three months, Jens Soering, their case became one of the most notorious
in the Commonwealths history.
The young lovers fled to Europe, Asia and finally London, where they were arrested in 1986. Both
confessed to killing her parentsshe briefly, he at length and in detail. The police decided to believe him
and allow her to plead guilty to merely instigating the murders. Soering confessed to the crime, under
the illusion that as the son of a German consular official he would be granted diplomatic immunity.
He believed he was nobly sacrificing his life for lovejust as Sydney Carton does for Lucie Manette in
Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities.
Instead of going to trial, in 1987, Elizabeth Haysom pleaded guilty to two counts of accessory to murder
before the fact. She was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and eventually sentenced to
90 years in prison. Haysom is currently serving her sentence at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for
Women in Troy, Virginia. She has been denied parole since becoming eligible in 1995. She will be
released under mandatory parole in 2032, at the age of 68.
Jens Soerings 1990 trial was one of the first to be televised gavel-to-gavel. He was 24-hour cable
gabfest fodder before there were 24-hour gabfests, says Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist Bill
Sizemore. The trial itself was a series of missteps. The judge was a friend of the victims family and
declared the defendant guilty before the trial even started. The defense lawyer was later disbarred for
having a mental disability during the trial. The prosecutions main witness was not qualified as an
expert, but was nevertheless allowed to persuade the jury that a bloody sock print at the scene fit the
defendant like a glove. Soerings former girlfriend then testified against him, and he was convicted of
two counts of murder and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.
In 2010, the Soering case turned into somewhat of a political drama. Soerings attorney petitioned
Governor Tim Kaine to authorize Soerings repatriation to Germany based on an obscure agreement
of the Council of Europe. At the end of his term, Kaine agreed. Four days later, new Governor Robert
McDonnell quickly repealed Kaines approval. Angela Merkel supports Soerings repatriation and raised
her concerns during talks with President Obama in 2015. The current Governor, Terry McAuliffe, has
already received a petition signed by a 120 members of the German Parliament. But, a group of 18
Republican delegates in Virginia sent letters of opposition to McAuliffe, a Democrat, in an effort to
demonstrate that Virginia stands tough on crime.
However, in 2016, new DNA findings show that type O blood at the crime sceneoriginally thought
to belong to Soeringwas in fact left by another man with the same blood type, but a different genetic
profile. Further DNA analysis shows that type AB blood found at the sceneoriginally thought to
belong to the female victimwas in fact left by a man with the same blood type, but a different gender
(XY chromosomes). DNA now proves that this crime was committed by two men (not one), and not
Jens Soering. In November 2016, Soerings attorney, Steve Rosenfield, petitioned the parole board
for parole or a pardon based on this new evidence. Soering and his attorney continue to wait for a
response . . .
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Unique Aspects of the Soering Case

The wrongful conviction of Jens Soering offers unique opportunities to media outlets for at least five reasons:
1. Attractive story elements Unlike most wrongful conviction cases, this one involves not just a
gruesome crime but also a tragic love story, with a murderous femme fatale (whose godmother
was Lady Astor) manipulating her younger college boyfriend. After her wealthy parents are found
stabbed to death, the lovers flee to Asia and Europe and are finally arrested in London, England.
He spends thirty years in prison before new DNA findings prove that two other men, not he,
helped his girlfriend commit the crime.
2. Currently available documentary film and true crime book The Promise, a full-length
documentary film about the case premiered at film festivals in Europe, Asia, and America in 2016,
and A Far, Far Better Thing, a true crime book by Pulitzer Prize-nominated reporter Bill Sizemore
(with a foreword by Martin Sheen) was released in January 2017.
4. Parallels to the OJ Simpson Trial of the CenturyThe prosecutions main witness was not
qualified as an expert, but was nevertheless allowed to persuade the jury that a bloody sock print
at the scene fit the defendant like a glove. This If it fits, you mustnt acquit, strategy predated
the famed OJ Simpson trial. Both the Simpson and the Soering trials can be analyzed from the
vantage point of exploiting the camera in the courtroom and how we respond to justice in the
spotlight. Both Simpson and Soering are up for parole in 2017; and controversy abounds about
their convictions and potential release.
5. Political Drama Over the past six years, the Commonwealth of Virginia has treated the possibility
of Soerings parole, pardon, or repatriation to Germany, like a political hot potato. Thrown from
governor to governora repatriation first approved by Kaine was overturned by McDonnell, and
now a new petition is in McAuliffes court. This case has been discussed during a meeting between
Angela Merkel and Barack Obama, and a recent article in the New Yorker noted: What started
with the adolescent fantasies and petty concerns of a campus romance ended up, thirty years
later, as a political drama playing out among the leaders of two continents.
6. Proven track record Because Jens Soerings 1990 trial was one of the first in the nation to be
televised live, gavel-to-gavel, this case has been the subject of numerous TV programs over the
decades. A partial list includes: The Geraldo Rivera Show, Inside Edition, Hard Copy, Justice Files, City
Confidential, Court TV, On the Case with Paula Zahn, and numerous Investigation Discovery series
(including Wicked Attractions, Southern Fried Homicide and others). It is important to note that all of
these programs were made before the discovery of the new DNA findings, so they all portray Jens
Soering as guilty. Thanks to the DNA, we now know that they all got this story completely wrong.
7. Sympathetic protagonist and team of supporters Jens Soering has a story to tell about 30 years
in prisonduring which hes had a spotless recordin which he managed to keep hope alive.
Hes highly articulate in addressing an inward journey that, with the aid of meditation, helped him
to emerge with a message to share about not giving up. Soering has given dozens of on-camera
interviews (though the prison has banned cameras currently). A list of lawyers, investigators, and
journalists who have covered his case, and are available for on-air interviews, is included in this kit.
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Timeline of the Soering Case

August 25, 1984 Elizabeth R. Haysom (age 20) and Jens Soering (age 18) enter the University of
Virginia as freshman honors students.
December 1984 Elizabeth and Jens fall in love.
February 1985 Jens has lunch with Derek and Nancy Haysom, his only meeting with Elizabeths
parents.
March 30, 1985 Derek and Nancy are killed in their retirement cottage in Bedford County, Virginia.
March 31, 1985 A few hours later, Elizabeth confesses to Jens that she killed her parents while
under the influence of drugs. She claims they sexually abused her and expresses great fear of being
executed. To save Elizabeths life, Jens promises to take the rap for her if arrested. Jens father is a
mid-level German consular official (Vice-Consul at the Consulate General in Detroit), so Jens believes
he is protected by a form of diplomatic immunity that limits his punishment to 10 years in a German
youth prison. For the rest of the night, Elizabeth and Jens rehearse his false confession.
April 3, 1985 Nancys best friend, Annie Massie, discovers the bodies.
April 8 to August 12, 1985 Forensic scientists discover a bloody sneaker print at the crime scene
that was left by a woman or ... boy; a bloody sock print that corresponds to Elizabeths shoe size:
and several of Elizabeths fingerprints on a vodka bottle near her inebriated fathers body. The
scientists also find blood of all four types: A, AB, B and 0.
October 12 and 13, 1985 Elizabeth and Jens flee the United States for Europe.
April 30, 1986 Elizabeth and Jens are arrested in London, England, on check fraud charges.
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June 5 to 8, 1986 Elizabeth and Jens are interrogated in London about the American murders by
a joint team of American and British investigators. Elizabeth is allowed access to her attorney, but
Jens is not. (The police station logbook states that Jens is to be held incommunicado. No such
instruction is given for Elizabeth.)
June 7, 1986 In a tape recorded interrogation, Jens tells investigators that he is willing to plead
guilty to a crime he did not commit: I can see it happening, yes. I think it is a possibility. I think it
happens in real life, okay.
June 8, 1986 Both Elizabeth and Jens confess. Elizabeths confession is brief, and investigators
allow her to explain it away as a facetious joke. Jens confession is much longer and more specific,
but he gets several major details wrongincluding the clothing of one victim and the location of
another victim.
August 24, 1987 Having waived extradition to America, Elizabeth pleads guilty to two counts of
first degree murder as an accessory before the fact.
October 6, 1987 Elizabeth is sentenced to two terms of 45 years imprisonment, to be served
consecutively.
August 1, 1989 The British government agrees to extradite Jens only on the condition that the
death penalty is not carried out.
January 12, 1990 Jens is extradited to America, and police discover that his foot is half an inch
longer than the sock print at the crime scene. So the prosecution decides to use freelancer Robert
Hallett, a former F.B.I. lab tech (not Special Agent) who had worked on tire and belt impressions.
June 21, 1990 After a three-week trial, a jury convicts Jens of two counts of first degree murder. In
a post-trial interview with the University Journal, juror Jake Bibb says that the jury was split 6-6 when
deliberations began. They only decided to convict after reviewing Halletts testimony and exhibits.
March 2009 The Virginia Law Review publishes Invalid Forensic Science Testimony and Wrongful
Convictions by Brandon Garrett and Peter Neufeld, which soon becomes the landmark study in
this field. On pages 71 and 72 the authors reveal that Robert Hallett gave misleading testimony
about a shoe print in the trial of Charles Fain. He spent 18 years on Idahos death row before being
exonerated through DNA testing.
September 24, 2009 Department of Forensic Sciences analyst Shelley S. Edler releases a Certificate
of Analysis. Under Virginias Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program, forty-two blood samples from
the Haysom crime scene are tested. Thirty-one are too small or too degraded to yield results. The
remaining eleven samples are tested successfully, and both Jens and Elizabeth are eliminated as
possible contributors.
June 2011 The current lead investigator on the Haysom case, Ricky Gardner, gives an interview
to German TV program ZDF Zoom in which he says that the defenses criticism of the sock print
evidence used at Jens trial is absolutely right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecpcLJ362Zs
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June 24, 2016 The documentary film The Promise premieres at the Munich Film Festival.
It features the original lead investigator in the Haysom/Soering case, Chuck Reid, discussing
exculpatory evidence that the prosecution suppressed for 27 years.
July 21, 2016 After a five-month review and analysis, Dr. Andrew Griffiths (University of
Portsmouth, UK) submits his report on Jens confession of June 8, 1986. He finds the confession to
be unreliable, due to the methods employed (e.g., denial of access to a lawyer) and the content
(e.g., discrepancies between the statement and the crime scene).
July 26-29 and October 27, 2016 After Jens cross-references the blood typing test results of
1985 and the DNA test results of 2009something that no one else had thought to do until
nowVirginias Department of Forensic Sciences formally confirms his findings: the blood at the
crime scene was left by two male perpetrators, neither of whom could have been Jens. One of the
perpetrators has the same blood type as Jens (type 0) but a different genetic profile; the other has
both a different type (AB) and a different profile. Neither one of these two mens genetic profiles is
in the Virginia DNA Databank.
March 2017 Lantern Books releases A Far, Far Better Thing Did a Fatal Attraction Lead to a
Wrongful Conviction?, by Jens Soering and Bill Sizemore, with a foreword by Martin Sheen. (Mr.
Sheen has been in regular contact with Soering since 2006.) In this true crime book, Soering tells
the story of the tragic events of 1986-1990, while Pulitzer Prize-nominated reporter Bill Sizemore
examines the new evidence and re-interviews the major figures.
Soering awaits results of a new petition for pardon/parole based on the recent forensic findings. . .
ELIZABETH HAYSOM & JUDGE WELCH
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The Story
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Jens Soering, 1982 (age 16)
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1984 UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

I love you. I love you now. I love you eternally.
You will always be the most important person in my life.
(Letter from Elizabeth Haysom to Jens Soering, December 20, 1984)
The love story of Jens Soering and Elizabteh Haysom

She was slender, wearing purple jeans and a t-shirt that was not quite white. That is how she came into his life
a bit run down: Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom. It was an evening in August 1984, an orientation event for the
academically elite Jefferson scholarship recipients of the University of Virginia. How many times in the past 29
years has he thought back to that meeting? It was the evening on which his life began to slide away.
He was 17 nave, a pale guy with big glasses. He was immediately entranced by her arrogance, her grey bluegreen eyes, her gaze so bored that it almost crushed him. Now he sits under the harsh neon light of his prison
world. For over 30 years, inmate #1161655 has been locked away in a cell. He has never used a cell phone, he
has never been on the Internet, he only knows his mothers grave from two photos, for decades he has not
touched a tree or eaten a steak. When he was locked up behind bars the phones still had a rotary dial.
His name is Jens Soering. Nationality: German. He is the son of a German diplomat, was born on August 1,
1966, in Thailand, raised in Germany and America. He was an ambitious child, a keen student, an academic
scholarship winner. Everything seemed possible. Until that evening when he met Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom,
the beautiful, irresistible Liz.
She simply stunned him with her stories. Everything about her was special: Her father was a Canadian steel
baron, her mother a god-daughter of Lady Astor. She told him that she had been sexually abused by her
mother, that she had been brutally raped in a boarding school in Switzerland, that she had fled with her lesbian
lover and spent months in Europe hiding, and that she finally wanted to get away from her drug addiction. Her
worldliness and sophistication were magnetic. After a few months they were a couple. Jens could not believe his
luck. Ironically, she had chosen him. For him she was the one and his passion was awakened. For her, he would
do anything.
(Pictures left: Elizabeth Haysom with her father Derek Haysom / letter from Elizabeth Haysom to Jens Soring, 1984 / Dormitory of Elizabeth
Haysom / Elizabeth Haysom 1993. Right: Jens Soerings almanac picture / Jens Soerings dormitory / Jens Soering, 1985)
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1985 THE MURDER

I love you and miss you more than ever. You are my definition of perfection and joy.
I know that these words are not sufficient
(Letter from Jens Soering to Elizabeth Haysom, August 21, 1985)
Derek and Nancy Haysom found dead in Loose Chippings

Then on March 30, 1985, her parents were brutally murdered in their home in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Haysoms were
found with their necks slashed by a knife to the point they were nearly decapitated. Derek Haysom was 71, but still a
strong man, he suffered twenty five stab wounds. Mrs. Haysom was stabbed at least six times. Both were heavy
drinkers and had alcohol levels of 0.22 when they died. It was a family friend who found them after Elizabeth Haysom
called her, saying she was scared because she couldnt reach her parents and they would never go out of town without
letting her know. The friend drove to their house called Loose Chippings, on the outskirts of Lynchburg, Virginia. She
had a key, opened the door and saw Derek Haysom lying in a pool of blood.
The crime scene shows signs of great violence, awash in blood. It appears to be an emotional murder. Although the
used dishes indicate the Haysoms had been eating at the diningroom table, Nancy Haysom, wearing a housedress, was
found on the linoleum kitchen floor. Derek Haysom, a tall heavyset man, was found in the doorway from the
diningroom to the livingroom. Local police, the sherriffs department and eventually the FBI were called in. Initially law
enforcement pursued the idea of a serial murderer at work, attempting to tie the murders to others that had been
committed nearby over the previous years. But nothing linked them, other lines of inquiry were dead ends. After a few
months attention turned to Elizabeth Haysom and Jens Soering, who had been in Washington DC on the weekend the
murder occured. But their rental car had much more mileage than could be explained.
Jens Soering says that Elizabeth came back to their Washington hotel room that night, sat down on the bed and said:
Ive killed my parents, it was the drugs that made me do it, they deserved it, anyway. Thats how he tells the story.
And then he had the idea that destroyed his life: He would tell the police that he did it. Like the hero in Charles Dickens
novel A Tale of Two Cities, who gave his life for love. It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done, the
novels protagonist Sidney Carton said on the scaffold. Thats how Jens Soering saw himself. When he thinks of that
night today, he smiles and looks around. Home for him is Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn, Virginia, a
colossus of a prison amidst the hilly countryside. By now, he thinks that he has never done anything more stupid.
(Pictures left: Investigators at Loose Chippings / the house in which Nancy and Derek Haysom were murdered in 1985 / Crime scene photos
of the police)
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1986 THE ARREST

...From what Liz has told me of what you discovered at Loose Chippings,
I can only say that I am incapable of such a thing...
(Letter from Jens Soering To investigators Ricky Gardner and Chuck Reid, October 1985)
Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom arrested in London

On April 30, 1986, the game was over. They were arrested as Christopher P. Noe and Tara Lucy Noe in a
department store in London. That their love was over, there and then, he did not know.
Jens Soering was 19 years old then, today he is 49. More than half of his life he has spent in prison. Hes been
through all phases: the shock, the anger, the self-hatred, the search for God, the loss of faith, the endless cycle
of hope and hopelessness.
In the beginning he was in England, in Brixton, a prison that stank of urine, sweat and boiled cabbage. Elizabeth
Haysom admitted killing her parents, then withdrew her confession and accused him. As promised, Jens also
confessed twice, and in great detail. He believed he had diplomatic immunity because of his father.
He thought he would be sent to Germany, sentenced to a few years in a juvenile prison. Without this sacrifice,
she would die in the electric chair. It seemed like a fair trade: his life for hers.
But then he found out that he was not covered by his fathers diplomatic immunity. Now he himself faced
execution in the electric chair. He withdrew his confession and began to fight for his life. For months he worked
through files, in which they argued against his extradition to the US on the grounds that the method of
execution was inhumane. He saw photographs of burnt hair on the forearms of ececuted prisoners, read
descriptions of eyeballs bulging out of their sockets and that it smells like fried pork when a man dies in an
electric chair. Three years throughout that time he always kept a rope under his mattress.
(Pictures left: Fake identification cards and checks / Detective Constable Terry Wright and US-investigator Ricky Gardner in Richmond,
England. Right: Bedford County Commonwealths Attorney James Updike and Ricky Gardner in London)
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1990 THE TRIAL

Jens Soering found guilty in double murder charge
The trial of Jens Soering became a media frenzy. During the court proceedings, a book describing imaginatively
how Jens murdered the Haysoms was being sold on the courthouse steps. The trial was one of the first to be
televised live. Each day crowds gathered to watch the unless we have proof of this line, we cannot use it
paraded in and out of the halls of justice.
The video footage shows Jens as he saw Elizabeth again for the first time in three years. She appeared in court
to testify against him. He looks at her, showing no emotions when she says that he has killed her parents.
Im innocent, Soering says even today. He has been counting the days for decades. By now, the shock, the
anger, and even God are gone. All that is left is regret and the realization that there had never been any love
at all.
After twenty years of incarceration, most inmates break down and give up, says Jens Soering. But not in his
case. For nine years he prayed meditatively for two hours each day. Then he wrote books like a man possessed:
on the mystical literature of the Middle Ages, about the American legal system, about his ruined life.
He gave interviews and wrote for newspapers and magazines throughout the US. There were more and more
supporters, the Friends of Jens Soering was established. Members of German parliament, lawyers, authors,
retired law enforcement officials, bishops, poets and Hollywood actors they all fight for him.
Again and again there was hope, but much more often there was disappointment. When Soerings German
passport expired, no one wanted to give him a new one. He would have been stateless, outlawed. In 1996,
correctional officials decided to ban foreign language books, newspapers and magazines in prisons. The ban
persists until this day. Sometimes Jens Soering searches for German words and cannot find them.
(Pictures from left to right: Elizabeth Haysom and Ricky Gardner testify at the trial of Jens Soering / Commonwealths Attorney James Updike
/ Jens Soering and his lawyer Richard Neaton; judge William Sweeney, Elizabeth Haysom, Jim Updike with footprint evidence)
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2010 THE LAST CHANCE

Democratic Governor Timothy M. Kaine agrees to repatriation
There were a few days in which Jens Soering thought he would come home. On January 12, 2010, on one of his
last days in office, the Democratic Governor of Virginia, Timothy M. Kaine, approved Jens Soerings transfer to
Germany.
On January 14, 2010, Soering heard the news. He was full of joy: For the first time after all these years, he felt
like a free man. It was his 8695th day in captivity the equivalent of 208,680 hours or 751,248 000 seconds. He
thought there were only a few days, hours and seconds more. In Ulm, Germany, a prison cell was ready for him
and a jar of Nutella waited for him. Bread with Nutella paradise.
But then the Virginia press found out about the planned transfer. There was outrage in the local papers. Again
Soering was the German beast. Even Elizabeth Haysom came forward for the first time after all these years and
said in the press: If he was unaware, if he was somehow innocent, I would shout it from the rooftops.
On January 19, it was all over. The new governor of Virginia took office. Republican Robert F. McDonnell
decided two things on his first day at work: He re-opened the public toilets on the highways of Virginia. And he
revoked the consent of Virginia for the transfer of prisoner Jens Soering to Germany.
(Pictures from left top to right: Former Democratic Governor Timothy M. Kaine and his successor, the Republican Robert F. McDonnell / Jens
Soering at Buckingham Correctional Center in Virginia)
jenssoering . com
| 15
2012 NEW EVIDENCE

The last chance and new developments
Normally, the transfer of a foreign prisoner to serve his sentence in his home country is unspectacular. But in
Jens Soerings case, it became a political issue because it was made to appear as being soft on crime. Soering
says: In 2006 there were 140,000 prisoners with a life sentence in America, they will almost all die behind bars.
Most politicians brag about it. Some say a life sentence is a harsher punishment than a quick, painless lethal
injection. They are right. Mercy means political death here.
His lawyers tried for months to bring a lawsuit to enforce the transfer to Germany. But the lawsuit was not even
accepted in court. At first, it lay on the desk of the legal advisor to the governor. Then the Attorney General of
Virginia refused to accept the complaint. Finally it was rejected outright.
Jens Soering sits in his prison cell. No, he says, he does not often think about Elizabeth Haysom. On the other
hand, how can you think of anything else in such a place? His first and possibly his last love, the reason why he
is here. She sits just 35 miles north of his prison, in the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Troy.
Jens continues to fight. A new witness showed up, who saw how Elizabeth Haysom, together with another man,
picked up a blood-stained car from his garage. He has gained new information about the footprints at the crime
scene. And a DNA analysis revealed that none of the DNA evidence from the crime scene was his. In fact, of the
42 blood samples DNA-tested, 11 probably belonged to someone other than him. But this persons identity
remains unknown.
(Pictures from left top to right: Gail Ball and Dave Watson (above) / former investigator of the Bedford County Sheriffs Department Chuck
Reid (below) / Jens Soering 2014 / Gail Marshall, Gail Ball, Tom Elliott and Rich Zorn at Jens Soerings parole hearing 2012 )
jenssoering . com
The Protagonists
jenssoering . com
The Promise Protagonists
Gail Marshall, former Deputy Attorney General of Virginia, has been fighting for Jens
Soering for many years. She is certain of his innocence and says she only had two cases
in her entire career where she was firmly convinced that the prisoners were innocent.
One is now a free man, the other is Jens Soering.
Tom Elliott, a Catholic deacon and chaplain, who accompanied Soering for many years.
He is one of the few that visits him regularly in prison. He is just in the process,
together with other supporters, to push once again for Soerings transfer to Germany.
jenssoering . com
William Sweeney, the judge who led the Haysom trial. He swore that he was
unbiased, even though he had given an interview before the trial in which he said he
thought Jens Soering was guilty. In addition, he was a friend of the brother of one of
the victims for over 40 years.
Ricky Gardner describes himself as a lead investigator in the Haysom murder case.
He was there when Jens Soering confessed to the murders in London without a lawyer.
To this day, Gardner defends the comparison made in court of Soerings sock imprint
found at the crime scene even though experts later said that this comparison was wrong
and misled the jury.
jenssoering . com
| 19
Gail Ball, Jens Soerings lawyer, hired the private investigator Dave Watson to finally
solve the crime.
Chuck Reid was a member of the Bedford County Sheriffs Department and one of the
investigators in the Haysom murder case. In an interview, he spoke about a FBI crime
scene profile that was created for the case in 1985, but which was not turned over to
the defense or mentioned in court. The profile described a female suspect and does not
fit the confession of Jens Soering. Reid is confident that there was such a crime scene
profile. But Ricky Gardner claims it never existed.
jenssoering . com
Rich Zorn (left), former Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General and a friend of the
Soering family. His son went to the same school as Jens Soering. He supported the
family for many years and is committed to the cause of Soerings transfer to Germany.
Dave Watson, a private investigator who was hired by Gail Ball to reinvestigate the
case.
jenssoering . com
| 21
Tony Buchanan, a new witness, who came forward in 2011 to say that, in 1985,
Elizabeth Haysom brought a damaged car to his garage, accompanied by another man
not Jens Soering. In the car lay a bloody knife. The witness was never officially
questioned.
Carlos Santos, a journalist, who followed the case from the beginning.
jenssoering . com
Steven D. Rosenfield, Jens Soerings new repatriation attorney, filed suit on January
18, 2011, to enforce his transfer to Germany. On January 12, 2010, the Democratic
Governor of Virginia, Timothy M. Kaine, consented to the repatriation of Jens Soering to
Germany. A week later, the new Republican Governor, Robert F. McDonnell, sent a
letter withdrawing Virginias consent to Jens Soerings repatriation. In July 2012, a court
ruled against his repatriation lawsuit; in December 2012, the Virginia Supreme Court
refused to even hear the appeal.
jenssoering . com
| 23
Quotes from Protagonists in the Jens Soering Case
I have represented Jens Soering pro bono for five years because, after a
review of the evidence, I concluded that there could be no earnest dispute
that he is innocent. The scientific evidence newly discovered in the case
provides overwhelming proof that two other men committed this crime.
Steven Rosenfield, Civil rights and criminal defense attorney; past president
of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association; appears in The Promise.
If DNA would have been available in 1985, we wouldnt be discussing this

today. Not with Jens Soering, anyway. He would have been cleared. . . . I
dont think Jens Soering was at the house, bottom line.
Chuck Reid, Bedford County Sheriffs Department lead investigator on
Haysom case during the first year (April 1985-April 1986); appears in The
Promise.
In my professional opinion the evidence does not support Jens Soerings
conviction and the finding of guilty.
David W. Watson, Prince William County Master Detective (ret.),
founder and first President of Virginia Homicide Investigators Association,
re-investigated the case at the suggestion of the Virginia Parole Board
(September 2011-September 2012); appears in The Promise.
[T]here have been only two occasions in my thirty-five years of practice

when, after a thorough investigation and review of the trial transcript of
an individual convicted of a heinous crime, I have concluded, to a moral
certainty, that the person was innocent of the crime for which he was
convicted and serving time. The first such incident [involved Earl Washington,
Jr.], and Mr. Washington is now a free man. The second occasion involved
Jens Soering.
Gail Starling Marshall, Deputy Attorney General of Virginia (1986-1994);
Soering attorney (1995-present); appears in The Promise.
Blood group tests from evidence gathered at the scene of the crime that are
more accurate than those possible at the time of the conviction, as well as
evidence from witnesses and experts, paint a new picture of the crime and
jenssoering . com
PAROLE BOARD 2014
lend credibility to Jens Soerings claims of innocence. ... [M]any people in

Germany are concerned that there has been a miscarriage of justice, as facts
were falsely evaluated and the conclusions drawn from them do not comply
with the standard of reasonable doubt.
Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert, President of the Bundestag (the German federal
Parliament; Dr. Lammert is the second-highest office-holder in Germany)
[I]n the case of Jens Soering there are significant doubts about the
reliability of the confession he made, so as to render it unreliable when
considered against the other case information and the circumstances of his
interrogation.
Dr. Andrew Griffiths, University of Portsmouth (U.K.), Detective
Superintendent, head of Major Crime, head of Intelligence and Crime, Sussex
Police (U.K.)
A comparison of [sock print] LR-3 with known prints of Jens Soering

provides no evidence whatsoever that Mr. Soering was at the scene of
crime. ... I can state that the crime scene print matches in size only with Ms.
[Elizabeth] Haysoms print.
Russell W. Johnson, Bureau of Criminal Identification, New Jersey State
Police (ret.)
jenssoering . com
| 25
Those Available for Interview
Jens Soering (phone interviews)

Now 50 years old and incarcerated in a mid- to maximumsecurity prison in central Virginia, Soering has authored
10 books since having been convicted of the Haysom
double murder.
Martin Sheen
The award-winning actor has been a friend and supporter
of Jens Soering for the past 10 years. Known for his
political and social activism, Sheen says, While acting
is what I do for a living, activism is what I do to stay alive.
He wrote the foreword for A Far, Far Better Thing.
Steve Rosenfield
For the past 4 years Rosenfield has served as Soerings
pro bono repatriation and pardon attorney. He has
been a civil rights and criminal defense lawyer since
1977. Rosenfield is past president of the Charlottesville
Albemarle Criminal Bar Association, a founding member
of the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
and the recipient of the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Pro Bono
award presented by the Virginia State Bar.
jenssoering . com
Bill Sizemore
Sizemore is co-author of the new book, A Far, Far Better
Thing. He retired in 2014 after a thirty-five-year career
as a reporter with the Virginian-Pilot, the states largestcirculation newspaper. He was a finalist for the 2007
Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting for a series of
stories on Blackwater, the private military company,
and he received more than twenty-five awards from
the Virginia Press Association. He has reported on the
Soering case for the past ten years.
Karin Steinberger
Steinberger is feature editor for Sueddeutsche Zeitung
(SZ), the leading broad sheet paper in Germany. She is
co-director (with Marcus Vetter) of The Promise. She met
Soering for the first time in 2006 and has covered his
case ever since. Due to her reporting, the case became
known in Germany and many German politicians
became interested in the case. In 2015, Angela Merkel
discussed it with Barack Obama.
Chuck Reid
A former member of the Bedford County Sheriffs
Department, Reid began his law-enforcement career
in 1980. He was the lead investigator in the Haysom
murder case and went on to become an administrator
of the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority. He retired after
nearly thirty years of law enforcement service. Always
having doubts about Soerings guilt, Reid says that now
with the uncovering of further evidence, he believes
Soering was not at the crime scene and has become a
staunch advocate for his exoneration.
jenssoering . com
| 27
Andrew Griffiths, Ph.D.

Griffiths is an internationally recognized expert in
investigative interviewing, based on 30 years experience
as a UK police detective and later, head of both homicide
and intelligence divisions, as well as 15 years of research,
lecturing, and training experience. He was a pioneer
of specialized interview training for police officers and
has lectured in numerous countries across the world.
He also co-authored a respected textbook on interview
techniques.
Gail Marshall
A former Deputy Attorney General of Virginia, Gail
Marshall represented Soering pro bono during his
appeals. She continues to advocate for his release.
Beth Karas
A former New York Assistant District Attorney, Karas
became a multiplatform journalist offering insight,
analysis, and on-the-spot reporting on numerous
high profile legal stories. She has appeared as a legal
expert on virtually every cable and network news
program. She serves as the pro bono media advisor
for Soerings team.
jenssoering . com
The Book
jenssoering . com
E xplore I ntegral Y oga I ntegral Y oga . org | 29
jenssoering . com
For Immediate Release

Contact: Martin Rowe, Publicity Director
For Immediate Release
212-414-2275 x 12
Contact: Martin Rowe, Publicity Director
martin@lanternbooks.com
212-414-2275 x 12
martin@lanternbooks.com
NEW BOOK CASTS

DOUBT
ON CONVICTION
IN NOTORIOUS
MURDER CASE
NEW BOOK
CASTS DOUBT
ON CONVICTION IN NOTORIOUS
MURDER CASE
In 1990, a Virginia courtroom found German citizen Jens Soering guilty of the brutal 1985
In 1990, a Virginia
courtroom
German
citizen
Soering
guilty
ofThe
the brutal 1985
murder
of Derek andfound
Nancy Haysom,
the parents
of hisJens
girlfriend
at the time,
Elizabeth.
case, which was the first trial to be televised in Virginia, was infamous: Soering and Elizabeth
murder of Derek and Nancy Haysom, the parents of his girlfriend at the time, Elizabeth. The
were children of privilege, had absconded after the murders, and Soering confessed to the crime,
believinglike
Carton
in Charles in
Dickens
A Tale ofwas
Two Citiesthat
to doSoering
so was a and Elizabeth
case, which was the
first trialSydney
to be
televised
Virginia,
infamous:
noble act of self-sacrifice. Almost three decades, eleven parole denials, and numerous twists and
were children of privilege,

had absconded after the murders, and Soering confessed to the crime,
turns (including international politics) later, Soering has had plenty of time to regret that fateful
decision. Carton in Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Citiesthat to do so was a
believinglike Sydney
Available for the first time in English, A Far, Far Better Thing is Soerings recounting
noble act of self-sacrifice.

Almost three decades, eleven parole denials, and numerous twists and
of his side of the story: of how a nave and reckless scholar fell into a world of deception, drugs,
and ultimately murder.
His revelations
accompanied
by the
painstaking
of Bill
turns (including international
politics)
later,areSoering
has
had
plentyanalysis
of time
to regret that fateful
decision.
Sizemore, a journalist whos followed the Soering case for over a decade. Sizemore uncovers:
The many holes in the prosecutions case that Soering murdered the Haysoms.
Available for the
first time in English, A Far, Far Better Thing is Soerings recounting
New DNA evidence that proves that other people were at the crime scene.
of his side of the story: ofOngoing

how political
a nave
and reckless
scholar
fellgovernors,
into a world
developments,
which involve
three U.S.
the U.S. of deception, drugs,
Secretary
of State, theare
German
government, and international
law.
and ultimately murder. His
revelations
accompanied
by the painstaking
analysis of Bill
The continuing petitions on Soerings behalf for a pardon.
Sizemore, a journalist whos followed the Soering case for over a decade. Sizemore uncovers:
During his time in prison, Soering has written several bookson Christian meditation, on
the inefficiencies and cruelties of the prison-industrial complex, and on daily life behind bars.
The many
holescase
inhas
the
prosecutions
casearticles
thatinSoering
murdered
The Haysom
been
the subject of numerous
local newspapers,
virtually the Haysoms.
New DNA evidence that proves that other people were at the crime scene.
(more)involve three U.S. governors, the U.S.

Ongoing political developments, which
launched the news magazine shows on television, and was the subject of a profile by Nathan
Heller in the New Yorker (A College Romance that Led to Murder, November 9, 2015).
Secretary of State, the German government, and international law.
The continuing petitions on Soerings behalf for a pardon.
During his time in prison, Soering has written several bookson Christian meditation, on
the inefficiencies and cruelties of the prison-industrial complex, and on daily life behind bars.
The Haysom case has been the subject of numerous articles in local newspapers, virtually
launched the news magazine shows on television, and was the subject of a profile by Nathan
Heller in the New Yorker (A College Romance that Led to Murder, November 9, 2015).
(more)
jenssoering . com
| 31
In Fall 2016, The Promise, made by Marcus Vetter and Karin Steinberger (promisemovie.com), began being shown in documentary film festivals around the United States, and will
be aired as a series on the BBC (which is a co-producer) in March 2017. In the same month, the
film will be shown widely throughout Europe.
In August 2016, Soerings attorney, Steven Rosenfield, filed a Petition for Absolute
Pardon and Parole with current Virginia governor, Terry McAuliffe, based on incontrovertible
scientific proof of absolute innocence. The petition relies on a new analysis of DNA evidence
that eliminates Jens as the source of the blood collected at the crime scene. This year, therefore,
is likely to be decisive in determining the future for Soering, and in offering an opportunity to
rectify what is increasingly looking like a shocking miscarriage of justice.
Jens Soering is the author of six books and three translations, including The Way of the
Prisoner, a hands-on, practical approach to medieval mystical texts; The Convict Christ, a
twenty-first century, North American take on liberation theology; and One Day in the Life of
179212, an homage to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Bill Sizemore retired in 2014 after a thirty-five-year career as a reporter with the Virginian-Pilot,
the states largest-circulation newspaper. He was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in
explanatory reporting for a series of stories on Blackwater, the private military company, and he
received more than twenty-five awards from the Virginia Press Association.
Jens Soering and Bill Sizemore
A Far, Far Better Thing
Did a Fatal Attraction Lead to a Wrongful Conviction?
Foreword by Martin Sheen
304 pp, 978-1-59056-564-3, $22 pbk original, b&w illustrations
Publication Date: March 21, 2017
Sales
Distribution and direct sales: Books International: 703-661-1594
UK and European distribution: Deep Books: +44 (0)20 86930234, www.deep-books.co.uk
jenssoering . com
The Documentary
jenssoering . com
jenssoering . com
8 June 2016 For Immediate Release

Munich, Germany
Documentary film The Promise selected for World Premiere

June 24 at Munich Film Festival

Stuttgart-based production company Filmperspektive shared the news of the films festival selection with the
subject of the documentary, Jens Soering, currently residing in Buckingham Correctional Center in Virginia. The
directors of the film, Karin Steinberger and Marcus Vetter said: We hope that this documentary will stir up
things and allow a new and unbiased look at the whole case.
Journalist Steinberger and filmmaker Vetter have been working on their film about Soerings case for four years
and were the last media allowed to record and film an interview with him. Jens Soering and his then-girlfriend
Elizabeth Haysom were both given major prison sentences for the brutal 1985 murders of Haysoms parents. Now
both have been behind bars for thirty years. Jens Soering spent the first three years in a prison in the UK and
twenty-seven in Virginia he has been denied parole eleven times. The film is described as a love story that led to
a life sentence.
There is no question that the trial was deeply flawed there is no physical evidence linking Jens Soering to the
crime scene, witnesses that should have been called were not and the existence of an FBI profile that would have
been exculpatory has been denied by the authorities, all of which is made clear in the film said Steinberger. Vetter
added: The films title, The Promise, has multiple meanings. In the first instance it refers to Jens promise to save
Elizabeth from the electric chair. But it also relates to assurances she received from the states attorney that seem
to have led to her testimony against Jens. Steinberger added: If you ask me whether there is a reasonable doubt
that Jens Soering killed the Haysoms I would definitely say: yes.
Representatives of the German government fought for Jens Soerings repatriation to Germany multiple times. That
nearly happened in 2010 when Virginias outgoing governor Timothy M. Kaine signed a deportation order. But it
was revoked by Kaines successor, Republican Robert F. McDonnell, who has subsequently been found guilty of
corruption.
The Promise was produced with support from SWR and BR German television and film funds MFG and DFFF, with
additional support from broadcasters ARTE, DR/Denmark, BBC Storyville, SVT/Sweden and VPRO/Netherlands.
A North American festival premiere followed by theatrical and television release are planned.
The Promise will be the opening film for the competitive section "New German Cinema" at the 34th Munich Film
Festival on June 24, 2016. Screening dates in Munich are:
Friday, 6/24/2016, 5:00 PM (131 Min.) ARRI Kino
Sunday, 6/26/2016, 11:30 AM (131 Min.) ARRI Kino
Thursday, 6/30/2016, 7:30 PM (131 Min.) City 3
Friday, 7/1/2016, 10:00 PM (131 Min.) Gloria Palast
For More Information:
Official website: promise-movie.com
Official facebook page: facebook.com/ThePromiseDocumentary/

Official website Filmfest Munich: www.filmfest-muenchen.de/en/programm/filme/film/?id=4957
About Karin Steinberger:
Karin Steinberger was born just outside Munich in 1967. She started her studies of Chinese and Comparative Literature at
S oering
edia K it jenssoering . com | 35
University of Munich, but later changed to the German Journalism Academy in Munich.
She bM
egan
working for Sddeutsche
There is no question that the trial was deeply flawed there is no physical evidence linking Jens Soering to the
crime scene, witnesses that should have been called were not and the existence of an FBI profile that would have
been exculpatory has been denied by the authorities, all of which is made clear in the film said Steinberger. Vetter
added: The films title, The Promise, has multiple meanings. In the first instance it refers to Jens promise to save
Elizabeth from the electric chair. But it also relates to assurances she received from the states attorney that seem
to have led to her testimony against Jens. Steinberger added: If you ask me whether there is a reasonable doubt
that Jens Soering killed the Haysoms I would definitely say: yes.
Representatives of the German government fought for Jens Soerings repatriation to Germany multiple times. That
nearly happened in 2010 when Virginias outgoing governor Timothy M. Kaine signed a deportation order. But it
was revoked by Kaines successor, Republican Robert F. McDonnell, who has subsequently been found guilty of
corruption.
The Promise was produced with support from SWR and BR German television and film funds MFG and DFFF, with
additional support from broadcasters ARTE, DR/Denmark, BBC Storyville, SVT/Sweden and VPRO/Netherlands.
A North American festival premiere followed by theatrical and television release are planned.
The Promise will be the opening film for the competitive section "New German Cinema" at the 34th Munich Film
Festival on June 24, 2016. Screening dates in Munich are:
Friday, 6/24/2016, 5:00 PM (131 Min.) ARRI Kino
Sunday, 6/26/2016, 11:30 AM (131 Min.) ARRI Kino
Thursday, 6/30/2016, 7:30 PM (131 Min.) City 3
Friday, 7/1/2016, 10:00 PM (131 Min.) Gloria Palast
For More Information:
Official website: promise-movie.com
Official facebook page: facebook.com/ThePromiseDocumentary/

Official website Filmfest Munich: www.filmfest-muenchen.de/en/programm/filme/film/?id=4957
About Karin Steinberger:
Karin Steinberger was born just outside Munich in 1967. She started her studies of Chinese and Comparative Literature at
University of Munich, but later changed to the German Journalism Academy in Munich. She began working for Sddeutsche
Zeitung, Germanys leading broadsheet newspaper, in 1991. In 2001 she was appointed the Feature Editor for the prestigious
Page Three. In 2006 she met Jens Soering the first time and has subsequently written many articles about him. She has received
several awards for her journalistic work and is a Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Together with
Marcus Vetter she was director of the documentary HUNGER, for which they won the Robert Geissendrfer Prize in 2011, and
she also co-directed THE FORECASTER with Vetter, a documentary about U.S. financial analyst Martin Arthur Armstrong. THE
PROMISE is their third documentary feature together.
About Marcus Vetter:
Marcus Vetter was born in Stuttgart 1967. He majored in European Business Management and Media Studies at Tbingen
University. He went on to work as freelance contributor, producer and editor at SWR in Baden-Baden and Stuttgart, and started
shooting his own films in 1997. His TV documentaries THE TUNNEL (1999), WO DAS GELD WCHST (2000) and BROADWAY
BRUCHSAL (2001) all won the prestigious Grimme Award. After his autobiographical film MY FATHER, THE TURK (2006) in
which he searched for his origins, he directed numerous films that have received attention at national and international film
festivals among which is THE HEART OF JENIN (2009) that won the German Film Award 2010. The film touches the core of the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict, by telling the story of the Palestinian Ismael Khatib, whose son was shot down by the Israeli army
and who decided despite of his grief to donate his son's organs to Israeli children. Vetter is as well the founder of the Cinema
Jenin project that reopened a defunct movie theater in the Palestinian Territory.

jenssoering . com
Media Spotlight
jenssoering . com
jenssoering . com
Sampling of Recent Media Coverage

Last Update: 12/12/2016
CBS19, 12/12/2016 (Video)
Soering Attorney Sends Evidence to Parole Board
http://www.newsplex.com/content/news/Soering-attorney-sends-evidence-to-paroleboard-406092175.html
The Guardian, 11/05/2016
Documentary Casts Doubt on Guilty Verdict in 1990 Virginia Murder Trial
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/05/jens-soring-elizabeth-haysom-virginia-murdersdocumentary
Richmond Times-Dispatch, 10/19/2016
New documentary About 30-year-old Murder Case Among the Highlights at Virginia
Film Festival
http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/movies-television/article_a39d399d-b2b5-5794-a51687b517755d15.html
NBC12 10/12/16
Investigator Wants Governor to Re-investigate Jens Soering Murder Case
http://www.nbc12.com/story/33367771/investigator-wants-governor-to-re-investigate-jens-soeringmurder-case
The Daily Progress 09/27/2016
This years Centerpiece Film is the North American Premiere of The Promise
http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/shirley-maclaine-among-guests-for-upcoming-film-festival/
article_6f1d77aa-8507-11e6-aead-cf188fde11bd.html
The Daily Progress 09/10/2016
Haysom: Soering Killed Her Parents Because Mom Sexually Abused Her
http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/crime/haysom-soering-killed-her-parents-because-mom-hadsexually- abused/article_7fdf09bc-4033-5469-8e2d-12c2b758125c.html
The Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia 08/30/2016 (Video)
Interview with Steven Rosenfield on the Coy Barefoot Program
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suTAAyVsEtg&feature=youtu.be
jenssoering . com
| 39
WSLS10 08/26/2016 (Video)

McAuliffe Responds Convicted Killers Request for Pardon
http://wsls.com/2016/08/26/mcauliffe-responds-convicted-killers-request-for-pardon/
WDBJ7 08/25/2016 (Video)
Haysom Murders Investigator Shares Doubt About Guilt of Jens Soering
http://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Haysom-murders-investigator-shares-doubt-about-guilt-of-JensSoering-391356451.html
WSET13 08/24/2016 (Video)
Convicted Killers Attorney Files Petition Asking for Absolute Pardon
http://wset.com/news/local/convicted-killers-attorney-files-petition-asking-for-absolute-pardon
The Washington Times 08/25/2016
German Diplomats Son Petitioning Va. Governor for Pardon
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/24/german-diplomats-son-petitioning-va-governorfor-p/
The Washington Post 08/24/2016
Jens Soering Says New Blood Analysis Proves His Innocence in 31-year-old Case
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/jens-soering-says-new-blood-analysis-proves-hisinnocence-in-31-year-old-case/2016/08/23/96eb2f18-6944-11e6-99bf-f0cf3a6449a6_story.html?utm_
term=.18c3a34cd7d0
NBC29 02/22/2016
Attorney for Robert Davis Also Representing Jens Soering
http://www.nbc29.com/story/31284518/charlottesville-attorney-for-robert-davis-also-representing-jenssoering
The Washington Post 12/7/2015
GOP legislators Urge McAuliffe to Reject Prison Transfer https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/
virginia-politics/gop-lawmakers-press-mcauliffe-to-keep-double-murderer-in-va-prison/2015/12/07/
f1eb61be-9d0a-11e5-8728-1af6af208198_story.html?utm_term=.48fcafc0031b
The New Yorker 10/12/2015
Will Jens Soering Get to Go home?
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/will-jens-soering-get-go-home
jenssoering . com
CONTACT
Media Liaison:
Beth Karas
Cell: 646-306-4000
WEB LINKS
Jens Soering Official website: www.jenssoering.com
The Promise (documentary): www.promise-movie.com
A Far, Far Better Thing (book): www.lanternbooks.com
Friends of Jens YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/FriendsOfJens1?feature=mhee
Jens Soering Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/j.soering
Books and Articles by Jens Soering:
http://jenssoering.com/publications
This media kit was produced by supporters for the

release of Jens Soering.
jenssoering . com

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Jens Soering Media Kit

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The Case of Jens Soering Media Kit

A new book and recent documentary explore the shocking

This media kit was produced by supporters for the

E xplore I ntegral Y oga I ntegral Y oga . org | ii

Did a Fatal Attraction Lead to a Wrongful Conviction?.. ... 6

Unique Aspects of the Soering Case................................. 7

Timeline of the Soering Case.................................................. 8

The Documentary: The Promise............................................ 33

Sampling of Recent Media Coverage.............................. 39

Fighting for the Light in the Darkest Places

From the Book Foreword by Martin Sheen

Announcing New Book and

PDF available now by request

Filmperspektive announces the release of the documentary film

Online link for viewing available now by request

Did a Fatal Attraction Lead to a Wrongful Conviction?

Unique Aspects of the Soering Case

Timeline of the Soering Case

ELIZABETH HAYSOM & JUDGE WELCH

Jens Soering, 1982 (age 16)

1984 UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

The love story of Jens Soering and Elizabteh Haysom

1985 THE MURDER

Derek and Nancy Haysom found dead in Loose Chippings

1986 THE ARREST

Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom arrested in London

1990 THE TRIAL

2010 THE LAST CHANCE

2012 NEW EVIDENCE

The Promise Protagonists

Quotes from Protagonists in the Jens Soering Case

If DNA would have been available in 1985, we wouldnt be discussing this

[T]here have been only two occasions in my thirty-five years of practice

PAROLE BOARD 2014

lend credibility to Jens Soerings claims of innocence. ... [M]any people in

A comparison of [sock print] LR-3 with known prints of Jens Soering

Those Available for Interview

Jens Soering (phone interviews)

Andrew Griffiths, Ph.D.

E xplore I ntegral Y oga I ntegral Y oga . org | 29

For Immediate Release

NEW BOOK CASTS

were children of privilege,

noble act of self-sacrifice.

of his side of the story: ofOngoing

The continuing petitions on Soerings behalf for a pardon.

(more)involve three U.S. governors, the U.S.

Secretary of State, the German government, and international law.

The continuing petitions on Soerings behalf for a pardon.

E xplore I ntegral Y oga I ntegral Y oga . org | 33

8 June 2016 For Immediate Release

Documentary film The Promise selected for World Premiere

Official website: promise-movie.com

Official facebook page: facebook.com/ThePromiseDocumentary/

Official website: promise-movie.com

Official facebook page: facebook.com/ThePromiseDocumentary/

E xplore I ntegral Y oga I ntegral Y oga . org | 37

Sampling of Recent Media Coverage

WSLS10 08/26/2016 (Video)

This media kit was produced by supporters for the

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