ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512030005
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
WITHOUT THE MEANS to get "Mortal Thoughts" published himself, the killer serving two life terms turned to a friend to get his claims of innocence on-line.
How do you get a book published on the Internet if you're an inmate in a Virginia prison? With a little help from your friends.
At least, that's the way Jens Soering did it.
Soering, who is serving two life terms for the 1985 murders of his girlfriend's parents in Bedford County, recently published his autobiography, "Mortal Thoughts," in cyberspace.
At a time when Virginia inmates' privileges are being stripped away, Soering's high-tech book has left many wondering how he got access to a computer.
He didn't, according to the Department of Corrections, which says inmates generally are not allowed to use computers.
Soering does, however, have the use of a typewriter where he's jailed at Keen Mountain prison in Buchanan County. He apparently sent hard copies of his manuscript through the mail to a friend.
In Virginia, criminals are prohibited by law from earning profits off publicity related to their offenses. But even though he isn't making money, the cyberbook - available free to anyone with a computer with a modem that connects it to the World Wide Web portion of the Internet - probably gives him a bigger audience for his claims of innocence.
In fact, electronic publishing is becoming popular for many new authors.
"There's more and more of that happening," said Virginia Tech computer science Professor J.A.N. Lee. "As the Web gets more and more popular, I think we're going to see more and more things in draft form going out before it goes on paper.
"If you want to get your message across, it's so easy to do - and you don't have to go through all these middle people to get it out and have it look reasonably professional."
The on-line version of Soering's book originates from the anthropology department of the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. The computer site is supervised by anthropologist Michael Fischer, who says he has never met Soering and doesn't really know who he is.
But Fischer does know Richard Sanders, a former graduate student of his at the University of Kent and a friend and former schoolmate of Soering's.
"Sorry to be boring," Fischer said in a electronic message. "But the only connection is that my ex-Ph.D. student Richard Sanders is a friend of [Soering] and Richard asked me if I would host the book."
Sanders and Soering attended the University of Virginia together and possibly went to high school together in Atlanta, according to Soering's former attorney, Rick Neaton.
"He's a longtime friend," Neaton said. "Sanders started corresponding with [Soering] off and on during the trial and while he was in prison. He's nobody new on the scene."
Messages left for Sanders went unanswered.
Soering's book can be found on-line at these sites:
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Soering/Contents.html
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Soering/miscarriage.html
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Soering/murder.html
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Soering/book-on-line.html
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Soering/social-issue.html
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Soering/va-prison.html
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Soering/true-crime.html
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