The German Embassy is petitioning the U.S. Department of Justice to transfer convicted killer Jens Soering from a Virginia prison to Germany, despite Gov. Bob McDonnell's revocation of permission to let him return to his native country, according to excerpts of a Justice Department letter released Friday.

State Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, who also opposes Soering's transfer, released parts of the letter as he urged the Virginia attorney general's office to counter the German effort and make McDonnell's views clear to the federal government.

Soering, the son of a German diplomat, was convicted of killing an elderly Bedford County couple, Derek and Nancy Haysom, in 1985. In his last week in office in January, Gov. Tim Kaine asked the Justice Department to approve the transfer requested by Soering's attorneys. After his inauguration as governor, McDonnell sent the Justice Department a letter saying the state has changed its position and does not want Soering to go back to Germany.

The part of the Justice Department letter released Friday states that the "Embassy of Germany and attorneys for Mr. Soering have argued to the Department that a new governor cannot revoke the consent of his predecessor."

Newman disagrees. "It is important that the Office of the Virginia Attorney General provide ongoing information to DOJ so that both sides of this debate will be considered," Newman said in a written statement. "If the department rules against the Commonwealth, I feel certain that this matter will go to Federal District Court."

State officials and members of the Haysom family oppose Soering's transfer because, under German law, he could be released after two years of incarceration there. Soering, sentenced to life and now in prison for 23 years, has been eligible for parole in Virginia since 2003 but has been denied. He maintains his innocence, though he confessed to murder after his arrest.

The German Embassy could not be reached for comment Friday. Justice Department officials declined to comment.

In the Justice Department letter, sent to Newman and dated Monday, the agency said it would not consider an application for a prisoner's transfer "without the consent of the state in which a state transfer application is incarcerated."

The question remains whether McDonnell's letter of denial trumps Kaine's letter of consent. Both houses of the General Assembly have passed resolutions calling for the Justice Department to leave Soering in Virginia.

"We're bitterly opposed to him going anywhere, and we've made that pretty clear," said Maj. Ricky Gardner of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office, whose investigation of the Haysom murders led to Soering's conviction.