Subramanyam ‘Subu’ Vedam? Wrongfully jailed for 43 years in murder charges, now faces deportation by ICE in US

Two US courts have ordered immigration authorities to stop the deportation of Subramanyam Vedam, a 64-year-old Indian-origin man who spent over 40 years in prison for a murder conviction that was recently overturned. Vedam, affectionately known as “Subu” by his family, is currently being held at a detention centre in Louisiana, which also has an airstrip used for deportations, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.

Last week, an immigration judge temporarily suspended his deportation until the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decides whether to review his case, a process that could take several months. On the same day, a district court in Pennsylvania also issued an order blocking his deportation, offering him temporary relief.

Who is Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam and why was he  convicted?

Subramanyam Vedam, who moved to the United States as an infant, was arrested in 1982 for the alleged murder of his friend, Thomas Kinser, who went missing in December 1980. Kinser’s body was discovered nine months later in a wooded area, and Vedam, the last person seen with him, became the prime suspect.

At the time, Vedam was a legal permanent resident of the US and had also faced a minor drug charge around the same period. In 1983, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole, along with an additional 2.5 to 5 years for the drug offence.

Vedam’s lawyers, while maintaining his innocence, argued that his conviction was purely circumstantial, with no eyewitnesses, motive, or physical evidence linking him to the crime. Despite this, he spent over four decades behind bars, during which he earned three degrees, taught other inmates, and mentored prisoners at a Pennsylvania correctional facility.

His father passed away in 2009, and his mother in 2016, without seeing him freed.

In August 2025, a Pennsylvania court overturned his murder conviction after new evidence came to light, proving his wrongful conviction.

Why was he taken into custody again

Vedam was released from prison on October 3, after 43 years of incarceration, but was immediately detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The ICE has now moved to deport him based on the old drug conviction, despite the murder charges being dismissed. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that the reversal of the murder case does not nullify the drug offence.

Vedam’s family and legal team have appealed for leniency, arguing that his decades of wrongful imprisonment should outweigh the minor drug charge, and that he deserves the right to remain in the country where he has lived his entire life.

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