After spending more than four decades in prison and consistently avoiding deportation due to a murder conviction that was later overturned, Indian-born Subramaniam “Subbu” Vedam has won a crucial legal battle to remain in the United States.A US immigration judge ruled that the 64-year-old Vaidham could remain in the country, rejecting efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to deport him. The decision comes after a hearing in which the court found that Vaidham had proven his rehabilitation and did not pose a threat to the public.Judge Adam Panopoulos said Vidam “grew as a person” and “began to devote himself to enriching the lives of others, and ultimately his own life, through academic study and enrichment.”
The judge added that allowing him to stay “would be in the interest of the United States.”Vidam was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last year, just as he was about to be released from prison after his murder conviction was overturned. He had spent more than 40 years behind bars for the 1980 murder of Thomas Kinser in Pennsylvania, a crime he has consistently denied.During the hearing, Vedam told the court: “I was young and stupid and did a lot of stupid things at that time.”
He said he was innocent of the murder charge and said: “I have never stopped saying that I am innocent of this charge.”Although the murder charge was acquitted, Vaidham still faces deportation due to a separate drug-related conviction from his younger years. As a teenager, he pleaded no contest to selling LSD, which authorities said made him eligible for deportation from the country.At the hearing, a DHS lawyer said Vaidham should still be deported, citing prior crimes including drug distribution, drunk driving and theft. But the court sided with Vaidham. His behavior over decades in prison, and his efforts at education and mentoring, were taken into account. Vaidham earned multiple degrees, helped improve literacy among inmates and built strong relationships with his family.The judge said the evidence showed “genuine rehabilitation, a consistent display of good morals over the past 40 years, strong family ties and community support.”Vedam was born in Mumbai and moved to the United States as an infant. He grew up in Pennsylvania, where his father was a physics professor. He was about to become a US citizen at the time of his arrest in 1982.After the ruling, Vaidham’s lawyer said she would seek his release on bail. If released, he plans to live with relatives in California and has been offered a place in a doctoral program in applied anthropology.DHS has 30 days to appeal the decision. Until then, Vaidam remains in detention.
