Indian-origin man Subramanyam Vedam deportation halted by US courts

Two US courts have directed the immigration department to halt the deportation of an Indian-origin man, Subramanyam Vedam, who spent over four decades in prison on a murder charge that was recently overturned. The 64-year-old, fondly called ‘Subu’ by his family, has been kept at a detention centre in Louisiana that is equipped with an airstrip for deportations, AP reported.

Last week, an immigration judge paused his deportation until the Bureau of Immigration Appeals decides whether to review his case — a process that could take months. A district court in Pennsylvania also halted his deportation the same day.

Vedam, who came to the US when he was 9 months old, was arrested in 1982 for allegedly killing his friend Thomas Kinser in 1980. Kinser, then 19, went missing in December 1980. His body was found nine months later in the woods. Vedam was the last person seen with Kinser.

During this period, Vedam was also briefly detained on drug charges.

Vedam was convicted in 1983 and sentenced to life without parole. He received an additional sentence of two-and-a-half to five years for a drug offence.

His lawyers claimed that his conviction was based on circumstantial evidence, with no witnesses, motive or evidence.

– Ends