Wed Oct 29 03:20:00 UTC 2025: News Article:
Man Exonerated After 43 Years for Murder Immediately Detained for Deportation
PENNSYLVANIA – Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, an India-born Green Card holder, experienced a cruel twist of fate after being exonerated and released from a Pennsylvania prison on October 3 after serving 43 years for a murder he didn’t commit. Moments after tasting freedom, Vedam, 64, was immediately taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, facing deportation to India, a country he left as an infant.
Vedam’s release from prison followed a judge’s decision to overturn his 1983 murder conviction based on previously undisclosed evidence that undermined the prosecution’s case. The evidence, revealed in 2025, included an FBI report suggesting the victim’s wound was inconsistent with the weapon Vedam was alleged to have used. District Attorney Bernie Cantorna dismissed the charges on October 2, 2025, citing lost witnesses and the passage of time.
ICE is now seeking to deport Vedam based on a decades-old deportation order stemming from a 1980s drug conviction for possessing and intending to distribute LSD, a crime he committed as a teenager. While the murder conviction was overturned, the drug conviction remains on his record, triggering the dormant deportation order.
His lawyer, Ava Benach, has filed an emergency motion to reopen his immigration case and a stay of deportation. “Subu has lived in the US since he was a nine-month-old infant…He was still a lawful permanent resident, and his application for citizenship had been accepted, when he was arrested in 1982,” Benach told USA Today.
Vedam’s family, including his sister and nieces who reside in the US, are fighting to keep him in the country. They argue that the US is the only home he knows and that deportation to India would be incredibly difficult after decades of imprisonment and significant technological and social changes. “All we want is for him to be home with us and to be able to move forward in life,” said his niece, Zoe Miller-Vedam.
ICE maintains that Vedam will remain in custody pending deportation, citing his prior criminal record. “ICE follows legal and due-process protocols,” said Jason Koontz of ICE, calling Vedam a “career criminal.”
Vedam is currently being held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania. Despite the circumstances, he is able to communicate with his family more freely than when he was in prison.
The case highlights the complexities of immigration law and the challenges faced by individuals who have spent significant portions of their lives incarcerated, even after exoneration. Vedam’s family hopes that his legal team can successfully challenge the deportation order and allow him to finally experience true freedom after decades of wrongful imprisonment.
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