A Camden man sentenced to 57 years in prison for a 2007 murder is finally getting a new court hearing, according to reporting by NJ.com. Richard Barge, now 39, has maintained since his arrest that he was not responsible for the killing of 22-year-old Nicholas Syders on Thanksgiving night that year.
Barge has been held at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton for the past 18 years. He told NJ.com he was at his then-girlfriend’s home eating dinner the night Syders was shot and killed, and that investigators dismissed that account without adequate consideration.
The Arrest and the Alibi
Barge acknowledged to NJ.com that he and Syders had exchanged words in the weeks before the killing, but said the dispute never became physical. Authorities, he said, framed the shooting as an act of retaliation. He has rejected that characterization entirely, telling the outlet he had no involvement in Syders’ death and repeated that position consistently to police from the start.
He was convicted and sentenced to 57 years in 2010. Barge said he has replayed the circumstances of his arrest in his mind throughout his incarceration.
A Long Road Toward a New Hearing
Barge’s case is now moving back before a court, offering him the opportunity to formally contest his conviction. He told NJ.com he has never stopped asserting his innocence and remains focused on clearing his name…