Victory for Subu Vedam: Judge says Indian-American jailed for 43 years can stay in US

This is another vindication for Subramanyam Vedam, a 64-year-old India-born US Green Card holder, who was jailed for 43 years for a murder he didn't commit. Last week, an immigration judge ruled that Subu Vedam could stay in the US, according to CNN. Vedam, despite being cleared in the murder case, is still in ICE custody.

While reporting on the legal victory for Subu Vedam, CNN said that the Department of Homeland Security has until May 4 to appeal against the reprieve granted to him.

Subu Vedam was, in fact, taken into ICE custody within 24 hours of him being cleared in the decades-old murder case. The ICE wanted him deported to India, but his sister initiated a legal battle to thwart that.

Vedam came to the US as a nine-month-old with his parents and elder sister. His parents are dead, and his only living relatives are his sister and her family.

WHAT IS SUBU VEDAM MURDER CASE THAT WAS A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE

In 1982, as he was nearing US citizenship, he was arrested and held without bail for the 1980 killing of his friend and former roommate, Thomas Kinser. Vedam was targeted primarily because he was the last person to see Kinser alive. Kinser, then 19 years old, went missing in December 1980; nine months later, his body was discovered in the woods with a bullet wound to the skull.

In February 1983, the attorney charged Vedam with first-degree murder, despite a lack of direct evidence linking him to the crime.

According to Vedam's supporters, there was no murder weapon, no eyewitness, and no clear motive. Although the prosecution claimed Vedam shot Kinser with a .25-calibre pistol, the case was built entirely on circumstantial evidence. Nevertheless, he was convicted later that year and sentenced to life without parole.

ICE CUSTODY AND EARLIER CANCELLATION OF DEPORTATION BIDS TO INDIA

Subu Vedam's walk to freedom in 2025 lasted only a few hours. When he was finally released from state prison after his murder conviction was formally dropped, just shortly after his release, ICE officials arrested him. Even though he was innocent of the murder, he was sent straight to an immigration detention center afterwards.

The government tried to deport him because of minor drug crimes from the early 1980s, when Vedam was just 20 years old. Because he was serving a life sentence at the time, the government simply ignored his deportation order for decades. But the moment he was set to go home, they brought the old case back to life to try to send him to India.

In early 2026, the Board of Immigration agreed to reopen his case.

This led to a victory in April 2026, when a judge ruled that Subu should be allowed to stay in the US. The judge highlighted Vedam's "deep personal growth", noting how he dedicated his time in prison to academic study and mentoring his four nieces, whom he only knew through visits behind bars.

The Judge stated that the court viewed Vedam's last 44 years as a new journey where he found true purpose. Vedam, who has lived in America since he was an infant, now awaits the final appeal deadline of May 4.

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