India-Born Man Exonerated After 43 Years in US Prison Faces Deportation to India

Subramanyam Subu Vedam, an India-born Green Card holder, walked free from a Pennsylvania prison on October 3 after spending 43 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit. However, his freedom was bittersweet. Within moments of his release, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained him for deportation to India—a country he left as a nine-month-old infant.

The Hidden Evidence That Freed Him

Vedam was convicted in 1983 without parole for the 1980 murder of his former roommate, Thomas Kinser. The prosecution’s case relied entirely on circumstantial evidence and the claim that Vedam shot Kinser with a .25-calibre pistol—a weapon never recovered. In 2022, legal experts discovered suppressed FBI evidence revealing the bullet wound was too small to match the alleged murder weapon, demolishing the prosecution’s theory and leading to his exoneration.

Fighting a Decades-Old Deportation Order

The ICE deportation order stems from a 1980s drug conviction for LSD possession when Vedam was a teenager. Though this unrelated conviction was dormant during his murder sentence, it was immediately enforced upon his release. Vedam’s family, including his sister and nieces, has challenged the deportation, arguing that the US is his only home. His lawyer filed motions to reopen his immigration case and stay the deportation proceedings.

Vedam earned three degrees while incarcerated, including an MBA with a 4.0 GPA—the first in his prison’s 150-year history. His parents passed away before witnessing his exoneration. Now 64, he remains in detention, fighting for the freedom that justice delayed for over four decades.