Indian-origin man Subu Vedam, wrongfully jailed in US for 43 years, faces deportation by ICE after exoneration | World News - The Indian Express skip to contentAdvertisementSubu Vedam, 64, walked out of Pennsylvania’s Huntingdon State Correctional Institution on October 3 after being behind the bars for over four decades for a murder he did not commit.By: Express Web Desk October 14, 2025 01:23 PM IST First published on: Oct 14, 2025 at 01:22 PM IST ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebookVedam’s legal trouble started in 1982 when he was arrested for the alleged murder of his friend, 19-year-old Thomas Kinser, in Centre County. (Photo: freesubu.org)An Indian-origin man from Pennsylvania, Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, who was released from prison earlier this month after spending 43 years in jail after his murder conviction was overturned, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over a decades-old deportation order.Subu Vedam, 64, walked out of Pennsylvania’s Huntingdon State Correctional Institution on October 3 after being behind the bars for over four decades for a murder he did not commit. However, Vedam’s long struggle for freedom is not over. US President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency’s order now threatens to deport him to India.Vedam’s legal trouble started in 1982 when he was arrested for the alleged murder of his friend, 19-year-old Thomas Kinser, in Centre County. Prosecutors had alleged that Subu shot Kinser with a .25-caliber pistol, however, the weapon was never recovered and the entire case was based on circumstantial evidence. Vedam was convicted in 1983 for the murder of his friend and sentenced to life without parole.A small group is rallying in State College today to support Subu Vedam, the man taken into ICE custody after being freed from prison. Vedam spent 40+ years serving a sentence, but a judge ordered a new trial and last week the DA asked for the case to be dropped. Vedam was then… pic.twitter.com/Q0rwsfc4kw— Centre County Report (@CentreCountyRep) October 5, 2025Subu, who was born in India, arrived in the United States when he was nine months old. He remained for the next 43 years in jail after being convicted in the case of his friend’s murder. In 2022, the Pennsylvania Innocence Project that has joined Subu’s defence team, found undisclosed evidence in the files of the Centre County District Attorney’s Office, which included an FBI report and handwritten notes that suggested the bullet found in Kinser’s skull was too small to have been shot by a .25-caliber bullet.In September 2025, District Attorney Bernie Cantorna dismissed the murder charges against Subu Vedam and stated that a retrial would be unjust and impossible. Subu walked free on October 3 from the Huntingdon State Correctional Institution after reportedly becoming the longest-serving exoneree in Pennsylvania’s history, reported Miami Herald.ICE, citing a “legacy deportation order”, has said that the agency took Subu Vedam into custody immediately after his release due to his “criminal past”. ICE stated that before his arrest for murder in the 1980s, Vedam had pleaded guilty at age 19 with an intent to distribute LSD.His family has described it as a youth mistake, reports stated. Subu was never deported as he was serving a life sentence. Now, after he has been exonerated of the murder charges, ICE has revived the decades-old deportation order in the other case.AdvertisementTop story1Gaza Peace Summit Live Updates | Biden, Clinton praise Trump as world leaders sign Gaza peace deal2Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee to join University of Zurich after MIT rejects Trump funding terms3After Israel-Hamas prisoner swap, leaders of US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey sign Gaza deal4India is a great country with good friend of mine at top, says Trump 5Pakistan PM vows strong response after Afghanistan claims killing 58 soldiersAdvertisementLoading Taboola...SubscribeSign InJournalism of CourageTop CategoriesLATEST STORIESIndian-origin man Subu Vedam, wrongfully jailed in US for 43 years, faces deportation by ICE after exonerationSpaceX Starship successfully completes 11th test flight: Which were the world’s largest rockets before this?Why we celebrate October 15 — APJ Abdul Kalam’s birth anniversary, history, significance and moreICC WTC 2025-2027 Points Table: Updated World Test Championship Standings after India vs West Indies 2nd TestSalesforce boosts AI capabilities with global launch of Agentforce 360Kajol says Salman Khan, Aamir Khan avoided age-gap romance question, but feels ‘can’t get mad at them’: ‘Feminism is overused’Constable injures 6 people after hitting several vehicles in Pune’s Ranjangaon; blood sample taken to test for alcohol testChipmaking supplier ASML set to ride AI megadeals waveShubman Gill on Nitish Kumar Reddy’s role: ‘He didn’t really get to bowl…don’t want players to only play matches overseas’‘Road to deal was not easy’: Biden lauds Trump for Gaza ceasefire dealWhat happened to campus activism against the war in Gaza?Britain issues first online safety fine to US website 4chanKarnataka CM Siddaramaiah, DyCM DK Shivakumar get hoax bomb threat email, FIR filedOn Punjab’s procurement list: six dogs to sniff drugs in jailsBengal MBBS student rape case: ‘No street lights or police surveillance in area,’ says National Commission for Women reportWindows 10 is dead: Here’s how you can upgrade to Windows 11