BELLEFONTE – Having spent 42 of his 62 years in prison, Subu Vedam is probably used to waiting. After remotely watching a two-hour hearing of his petition for a new trial on Monday morning, he’s going to have to wait a little longer.
Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine listened to a prosecutor argue that Vedam’s request should be denied. Then he listened to Vedam’s counsel argue why he deserves a chance to prove he did not kill Thomas Kinser in 1980.
In the end, Judge Grine had one question: How many days would the defense need to present its case for a new trial?
A tea-leaf reader might have taken that as a hopeful sign: Why would the judge ask how long a hearing would take if he had no intention of scheduling one? But Subu’s family, who were among the 200 people who packed the Centre County Court, hesitated to get their hopes up.
Lead attorney Gopal Balachandran, on the other hand, felt good about his morning in court.
“Our case has gotten stronger and stronger and I feel confident about it,” he told reporters.
To recap, the Commonwealth’s case looks like this: Subu Vedam, then a 19-year-old State College resident, bought a .25-caliber handgun in Fall 1980. His friend Tom Kinser disappeared a few weeks later. Vedam was the last person to see him alive. Kinser’s body was discovered in September 1981 at Bear Meadows in Harris Township. A .25-caliber bullet and bullet casing found among his remains matched a bullet casing found near where Vedam test-fired the gun when he bought it.
Though the evidence is circumstantial – the gun itself was never found and there were no witnesses to the murder – prosecutors have maintained throughout that the match between the two bullet casings makes their case a strong one.
Balachandran and his team contend that the bullet hole in Kinser’s skull was too small to have been made by a .25, and that testimony that suggested otherwise — and led juries to convict Vedam in 1983 and uphold that verdict in 1988 — was false.
Balachandran, a law professor at Penn State and a member of the State College Borough Council, argued that the Centre County District Attorney’s office suppressed evidence that would have proven that Kinser could not have been shot by a .25.
Also suppressed, he said, was evidence that might have cast doubt on the testimony of the witness who said he sold Vedam the gun, and witness interviews that might have cast suspicion on other acquaintances of Tom Kinser.
“Relief should be granted,” Balachandran said in conclusion. “Every second he has spent in jail has been an injustice.”
At that, the entirely partisan audience erupted in applause, which drew a mild rebuke from Judge Grine. While he appreciated the audience’s passion, the judge said, “if it happens again, I’ll clear the court.”
It didn’t.
Outside was another story. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Vedam’s family – his four nieces, his sister and his brother-in-law – along with a large network of State College friends, supporters assembled in front of the courthouse an hour before the hearing and displayed signs with such messages as “Free Subu,” “New Evidence Demands a New Hearing,” “DA New Gun & Bullet Didn’t Match,” and the like.
An acquittal, Subu’s niece, Zoe Miller-Vedam, told the crowd, “would not only be a victory for Subu. It would also be a victory for our justice system.”
Janet Irons of the Pennsylvania Prison Society of Centre County added, “We knew 40 years ago that an injustice had been done. This is a wound that needs to be healed.”
In the days and weeks before the hearing, family and friends had held informational meetings, distributed yard signs and organized a letter-writing campaign, all aimed at showing the judge and the D.A. that Vedam had the support of the community.
The letters attested to Vedam’s good character and good works while in prison.
“Subu has been exemplary,” wrote one, “developing his skills, showing leadership in organizing others to benefit others (e.g., through his work in literacy tutoring and other mentoring), and productively using his time in prison to improve himself (e.g., through earning degrees) and others.”
Another writer said: “Subu is a compassionate, empathetic, and peaceful soul. His excellent prison record speaks for itself; he has been a resident of the Honor Block for over 35 years, and I know he has been an asset to incarcerated people and staff alike.”
Assistant District Attorney Josh Andrews did not address Vedam’s character or the amount of time he has already served at the state prison in Huntingdon. There’s nothing new in any of the issues Vedam’s team is raising, he told the court.
“There comes a time,” he said, “when litigation has to come to an end.”
That time will come, Subu’s supporters counter, when he has had a chance to clear his name.
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