Centre County prosecutors are not appealing a judge’s ruling to overturn the conviction of Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam, a State College man who had been convicted of first-degree murder and has been in prison for 42 years.
The deadline to appeal was on Monday. The District Attorney’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment, but previously said new information did not challenge the jury's guilty verdict.
In an emailed statement to WPSU, Gopal Balachandran, Vedam’s lead attorney, said they are still processing what the lack of an appeal will mean for the case moving forward.
“We’re happy that the Commonwealth chose not to appeal Judge (Jonathan) Grine’s thoughtful and thorough decision,” Balachandran said. “This brings us one step closer to correcting this gross injustice and exonerating Subu.”
Vedam is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 10 for a criminal pre-trial conference. That’s when the DA’s office will decide whether to pursue another trial against Vedam, drop the case entirely or offer him another plea agreement. Vedam has refused those in the past and maintains his innocence.
Attorneys for both the defense and prosecution have said a new trial could be difficult since so much time has passed since Thomas Kinser’s death. Some witnesses have since died or could have a foggy memory of the time, according to attorneys.
Vedam is currently being held at SCI Huntingdon.
