A Life Lost Behind Bars
Imagine being locked away for 43 years for something you didn’t do. Then, when you finally walk free—proven innocent—you are taken back into custody and told you’ll be deported to a country where you know no one, speak the language poorly, and have no home.
This is the tragic story of Subramanyam Vedam, also known as Subbu, an Indian-origin man who spent over four decades in an American prison for a crime he never committed.
From a 20-Year-Old Student to a 60-Year-Old Prisoner
When Subbu was arrested, he was only 20 years old—a young college student full of dreams. When he was released, he was over 60, with most of his life spent behind bars. His parents had passed away, his relatives were gone, and the world outside had completely changed.
He had been accused of murdering his college friend, Tom Kinser, in 1980. The police claimed that Tom was last seen with Subbu before his body was found in the woods months later. Despite no evidence, no witness, and no motive, Subbu was charged and denied bail.
How a Police Error Destroyed a Lifetime
Subbu’s family tried to help. His father, a physics professor at Penn State University, even offered their home as collateral for bail. But the authorities refused—labeling him a “foreigner” and seizing his passport and green card.
In 1983, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
For years, Subbu filed appeals, insisting on his innocence. Finally, in 2021, new forensic evidence surfaced, proving that the bullet wound did not match the gun used as evidence in court. In October 2025, the Pennsylvania court exonerated him, declaring he had been wrongfully convicted.
The court admitted that prosecutors had withheld thousands of pages of evidence that could have proven his innocence decades earlier. It was one of the longest wrongful convictions in Pennsylvania’s history.
Freedom That Feels Like Another Prison
But freedom was short-lived. As soon as Subbu stepped out of prison, agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him again.
Why? Because back in 1988, based on his wrongful conviction, an old deportation order had been issued against him. Now, despite being declared innocent, ICE insists that the order still stands — meaning he could be deported to India, a country he barely knows.
A Man Without a Country
Subbu was born in India during a brief family visit but moved to the US when he was just nine months old. He grew up entirely in Pennsylvania, studied there, and built his life there. He doesn’t speak Hindi and has no living relatives in India. His niece says:
“He doesn’t even know the language. He has an American accent and has no one back in India. Sending him there would be like sending him into isolation.”
Today, at 64 years old, Subbu sits in an immigration detention center, waiting for a court to decide whether he will be allowed to remain in the only country he has ever truly known.
A Sister’s Plea for Justice
His sister, Saraswati Vedam, who lives in Massachusetts, is heartbroken:
“What kind of justice system is this? He lost his childhood, his youth, his parents — yet he never lost his dignity. He’s a gentle soul who has suffered enough. If they send him away now, they’ll take away what little he has left — his home, his family, his peace.”
A Life Stolen, A Freedom at Risk
Subramanyam Vedam’s story isn’t just about wrongful imprisonment; it’s about a justice system that failed twice — once when it locked up an innocent man and again when it tried to take away his second chance at life.
After 43 years of injustice, Subbu’s only wish is simple — to stay in the country he calls home and live the few years he has left in peace, not exile.
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