PENNSYLVANIA, 19 October (H.S.): After spending 43 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, Subramanyam Subu Vedam was exonerated and released earlier this month, only to be immediately taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and now faces deportation to India.
Vedam, 64, has lived in the United States since he was nine months old and was a legal permanent resident with a pending citizenship application before his arrest. He was convicted in 1982 for the murder of his former roommate, Tom Kinser, and sentenced to life in prison.
Throughout his four-decade incarceration, Vedam maintained his innocence.His exoneration came after new evidence surfaced, including a suppressed FBI report, which led a judge to overturn his conviction in August 2025.
The District Attorney subsequently dropped all murder charges, paving the way for his release on October 3.However, instead of freedom, Vedam was met by ICE agents who detained him based on a 1988 deportation order. The order stems from a separate, non-violent drug conviction from when Vedam was 19 years old.
While his murder conviction has been vacated, the drug charge still stands, providing the legal basis for ICE’s action.His family and legal team are now fighting the deportation, calling it a terrible wrong and a second theft of his life.
They argue that deporting him to India, a country where he has no close relatives and lacks cultural and linguistic connections, would be another profound injustice.
My name has been cleared, I’m no longer a prisoner, I’m a detainee, Vedam told his sister, focusing on the victory of his exoneration even as he faces a new legal battle from a federal detention center.
During his wrongful imprisonment, Vedam became a model inmate, earning three degrees with honors and creating literacy programs for others. His lawyer, Ava Benach, insists his decades of good behavior and contributions should be considered as they fight to keep him in the U.S. with his family.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
