An Indian-origin man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and jailed for 43 years in the United States, only to face deportation after being released, has now been allowed to stay in the US. Subramanyam Vedam, 64, spent more than four decades in prison before his innocence was proven last year. However, he was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately upon his release from prison in October 2025.
ICE officials wanted to deport the 64-year-old to India — a country he left when he was nine months old. However, an immigration judge ruled last Thursday that Vedam can stay in the United States.
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Immigration judge rules in Vedam’s favour
US Immigration Judge Adam Panopoulos said Vedam proved he was genuinely rehabilitated and did not pose a danger to the public. He cited Vedam’s efforts to improve literacy among inmates and his close ties to his family, including nieces who have never known him as a free man.
Panopoulos said that Vedam “has grown as a person” and “began to dedicate himself to enriching other people’s lives and ultimately his own through academic study and enrichment.”
However, Vedam will not be released from custody right away. According to a CNN report, he and his lawyer must file a bond request. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has until May 4 to appeal the ruling.
DHS claims that Vedam can still be deported on unrelated drug distribution convictions. In a statement emailed Thursday, the department said that “having a single conviction vacated will not stop ICE’s enforcement of the federal immigration law.”
Background on the case
When he was a 20-year-old student at State College, Pennsylvania, Vedam was wrongfully convicted for the murder of his friend and sentenced to life without parole. He spent 43 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
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The Indian-origin man was freed after a court found that prosecutors had concealed evidence that would have dismantled the case against him, proving his innocence, reported The Miami Herald.
However, upon his release, Vedam was immediately taken into custody by officers of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE cited a deportation order dating back to the 1980s in taking Vedam into custody. The deportation order was tied not only to his murder conviction — which has been overturned — but also to an earlier drug conviction.
At the age of 19, Vedam had pleaded guilty to intent to distribute LSD. His family describes it as a youthful mistake.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
