New York : 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. An immigration judge paused his deportation until the Bureau of Immigration Appeals decides whether to review his case — a process that could take months.
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, a legal permanent resident of the US, was also briefly detained on drug charges.
His lawyers claimed that his conviction was based on circumstantial evidence, with no witnesses, motive or evidence. Throughout the years, his family made tireless efforts to prove his innocence. Vedam earned three degrees, became a teacher, and mentored many inmates. His father died in 2009, while his mother passed away in 2016.
He was released from prison on October 3, after spending more than 43 years in prison. However, he was immediately taken into custody by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ICE now wants to deport him over the minor drug offence for which he was convicted. The Department of Homeland Security has maintained that the reversal in the murder case does not cancel the drug conviction.
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