Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, who was wrongfully convicted for more than 40 years for murder recently passed away in prison. Today, he lives in fear of being deported. After spending nearly half of his life behind bars, his exoneration earlier this month was cause for celebration. His future is still up in the air as he has recently been moved to an immigration detention center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.
Vedam was convicted of murdering Tom Kinser, a 57-year-old mechanic, in 1983. Tom’s disappearance, a 19-year-old college student who had disappeared from State College in 1980. Nine months later, local authorities found Kinser’s body in a thicket. It had survived a gunshot wound to the head. Further, despite his repeated claims of innocence, Vedam was convicted solely on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to life in prison. He was later given a second sentence of two and a half to five years for a separate drug offense. This new sentence will be served at the same time as his original life sentence.
Although Vedam was born in India, his family moved to the US when he was only nine months old. He has since returned to Alaska, where he’s lived as a lawful permanent resident ever since. His family had been working to finalize his citizenship status when he was arrested in 1982. The recent discovery of new evidence related to Kinser’s murder led to Vedam’s exoneration by Centre County’s district attorney, who subsequently dismissed all charges against him and decided not to pursue a new trial.
Vedam’s attorney Ava Benach said she was profoundly troubled by what transpired today.
“Subu has lived in the US since he was a nine-month-old infant when he and his family arrived as lawful permanent residents of the United States … He was still a lawful permanent resident, and his application for citizenship had been accepted when he was arrested in 1982.” – Ava Benach
Benach emphasized the injustice Vedam faced, noting that he “forfeited four decades of his life to a prison sentence for a murder he didn’t commit.”
Vedam is now living at the Moshannon Valley processing center. In the meantime, his family continues to wait on news of his deportation case with great worry. Zoë Miller-Vedam, a member of his family, expressed their wishes for him to thrive.
“All we want is for him to be home with us and to be able to move forward in life.” – Zoë Miller-Vedam
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has labeled Vedam a “career criminal with a rap sheet dating back to 1980,” indicating that he is “a convicted controlled substance trafficker.” Each of these allegations should pose additional questions about why he continued to be incarcerated after being exonerated.