The Poignant Case Of Subu Vedam: Freed After 44 Years, Now Detaind By ICE

Photos: freesubu.org

By India-West News Desk

STATE COLLEGE, PA — When Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam walked out of a Pennsylvania state prison after 44 years, he was finally free — or so it seemed. Within hours of his release, the 63-year-old was taken into custody once again, this time by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The transfer, which took place on October 3, 2025, came just one day after Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna dismissed all charges against him. That dismissal followed an August ruling vacating his 1983 conviction for the murder of local resident Tom Kinser — a crime Vedam had always insisted he did not commit.

Vedam’s attorneys have now filed a petition in immigration court seeking his release. They argue that the ICE detention is rooted in the same conviction that no longer exists, and that the law must now recognize his full exoneration.

Vedam’s deportation order is tied to a youthful drug conviction, specifically pleading guilty to intent to distribute LSD when he was 19. While he served his life sentence, the order had remained dormant and he was unable to fight his deportation. ICE is describing him  as “a career criminal with a rap sheet dating back to 1980” and “a convicted controlled substance trafficker.”

“This is an injustice upon an injustice,” one of his attorneys said in a statement. “Mr. Vedam’s freedom cannot remain hostage to a conviction that the court itself has declared invalid.”

Born and raised in State College, Vedam was just 21 when he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Over four decades, he refused every plea bargain offered, unwilling to accept even the smallest implication of guilt.

His path to vindication began in 2022, when lawyers with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project uncovered long-buried evidence in the Centre County District Attorney’s files. The newly discovered materials showed that key exculpatory evidence — including FBI ballistics reports and witness contradictions — had been withheld from the defense at trial.

One of the most significant findings was an FBI analysis determining that the bullet wounds in the victim could not have been caused by the .25-caliber gun prosecutors had tied to Vedam. Additional forensic reviews confirmed the mismatch, undermining the very foundation of the prosecution’s case.

Other documents revealed that a key witness had lied under oath. Together, the new findings painted a devastating picture of prosecutorial misconduct and eroded the case that had kept Vedam behind bars for most of his life.

Public support for his release swelled. In July 2024, over 200 people gathered outside the Centre County Courthouse as his legal team argued for a new hearing. By February 2025, leading forensic experts testified that the ballistics evidence used at trial was “scientifically inconsistent” with the state’s claims.

On August 28, Judge Jonathan D. Grine vacated Vedam’s conviction, ruling that the suppression of exculpatory evidence violated his constitutional right to due process. The hidden materials, he wrote, “would potentially have severed the link between the petitioner and the crime.”

Even while wrongfully confined in a maximum-security prison, Vedam dedicated his life to learning and service. He earned three degrees by correspondence, including an MBA with a perfect 4.0 GPA — the first inmate in the facility’s 150-year history to do so. He led literacy programs, mentored younger inmates, and organized fundraisers for youth rehabilitation initiatives.

“Subu never let prison define him,” said a former volunteer who worked with him through a prison education program. “He believed that every person could still contribute to the world, even from behind walls.”

For Vedam’s family, the years were marked by both loyalty and loss. His parents — his father, Dr. K. Vedam, who died in 2009, and his mother in 2016 — never gave up on him, visiting every week for decades. His sister and nieces have remained by his side, maintaining daily contact through phone calls and video visits.

In a statement following his exoneration, the family extended compassion to the relatives of the victim, Tom Kinser. “We know that revisiting this case reopens wounds,” the statement read. “But truth and justice serve both families. Our hearts go out to everyone who has suffered because of this tragedy.”

For now, Vedam’s fate rests with the immigration court. His supporters — including innocence advocates, community leaders, and former fellow inmates — hope that this final chapter will end with true and complete freedom.

As his legal team works to secure his release, those who have followed his case say they are inspired by his quiet dignity and refusal to lose faith.

“He’s spent nearly his entire adult life fighting to prove his innocence,” said a representative from the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. “Now, the fight is simply to let him be free.”