RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will leave office without pardoning a German diplomat’s son serving a life sentence in the 1985 slayings of his ex-girlfriend’s parents.
Jens Soering submitted a request for the governor’s clemency. Activists also have sought a pardon for Soering.
But The Washington Post reports that the outgoing governor says Virginia is still investigating claims that DNA evidence indicates that Soering was not the source of some of the type-O blood found by investigators.
The newspaper quotes McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy as saying officials don’t expect that investigation to be completed before the governor departs.
Soering initially confessed to the killings but later recanted.
In 2010, then-Gov. Tim Kaine asked the Justice Department to transfer Soering to a German prison. But Kaine’s successor, Gov. Bob McDonnell, revoked that request.
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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
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