We are fundraising in support of Subu Vedam's legal, healthcare, and re-entry costs.
Wrongfully imprisoned for over 40 years for a crime he did not commit, Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam was finally exonerated last October after records surfaced showing that the prosecutor who brought charges against him unlawfully concealed evidence proving he was innocent. Within 24 hours of his exoneration – and as he was on the brink of his release from the prison – Subu was seized by federal immigration agents and funneled into an ICE detention center, where he remains today, fighting a deportation order that dates back to the time of his wrongful conviction.
Subu got a new chance for freedom in 2022 when lawyers working in concert with the PA Innocence Project gained access to never-before-disclosed FBI evidence that showed the murder victim’s death was likely caused by a .22-caliber gun, not the the .25-caliber weapon purportedly linked to Vedam. Three years later, in August of 2025, a judge overturned Vedam’s wrongful conviction, based on the discovery of the concealed evidence. With this ruling, Subu became one of the 25 longest serving exonerees in U.S. history.
Subu has lived in the U.S. since he was a 9 month old baby, when his father got a job at Penn State University. He was weeks away from his citizenship swearing-in when he was wrongfully arrested at 20 years of age.
Today, Subu is a thoughtful, gray-haired, 64-year old. Despite suffering an incredible injustice, for over 40 years in prison Subu worked to build a meaningful life of learning and serving others. He helped organize a charity run-a-thon; advised fellow inmates on their parole applications, and completed multiple graduate degrees.
For his scrupulous work in the prison’s education department, Subu earned only 40-cents/hr for his labor – hardly enough to accumulate the kind of savings needed to defray the costs of healthcare, dental care, transportation, and the other daily essentials he will need to survive, once freed. When prosecutors in the 80's concealed evidence of his innocence they robbed him of the opportunity to earn a real wage, build a career, have children, or save for retirement but he refused to let this injustice break his spirit. Read more about his story and accomplishments at freesubu.org.
Your support can help us see this fight through to the day when Subu finally walks free. Every dollar donated will go to help Subu pay for his immigration legal defense, secure healthcare, and transition to life as a free man when he is finally released.