04/29/2026
Thank you so much to everyone who has helped. I’m literally in tears over this case. Copy & paste this letter and send via email [email protected]
Dear Senator Booker,
My name is (insert name here), and I am writing to you as a concerned New Jersey constituent with a heavy heart and an urgent plea. Richard Barge has been imprisoned since his 2012 conviction for the 2007 murder of Nicholas Syders in Camden - sentenced to 57 years with limited parole eligibility. However, the foundation of that conviction is deeply troubled. The eyewitness who initially stated that the shooter "was not Richard Barge" later recanted under circumstances that included threats directed at him and his family. Additionally, a doorman working at the scene that night, James Jordan Ill, came forward years later certifying that he witnessed the shooting and that the shooter was not Richard Barge -- yet this testimony was never heard at trial. When a man's life is taken on the basis of recanted testimony and suppressed witnesses, justice has not been served.
I am asking you, Senator Booker - a champion of criminal justice reform and a voice for the voiceless -- to use your platform and your power to advocate for a full and thorough review of Richard Barge's case. Two jailhouse informants who testified against him openly admitted they hoped their cooperation would reduce their own sentences -- a troubling incentive that casts serious doubt on the reliability of the testimony that helped put Richard behind bars. This is not justice. This is a system that failed a man, and it is failing him still. Every day that Richard Barge remains incarcerated under these circumstances is a day that the promise of equal justice under law goes unfulfilled.
Senator Booker, you have long fought for those whose voices have been silenced by a broken system. I am humbly asking you to fight for Richard Barge. Please use your influence to call for a genuine review of his conviction, support any legislative remedies that could apply to cases like his, and help ensure that no New Jersey family continues to suffer the weight of a wrongful imprisonment. The Barge family is counting on leaders like you. We, your constituents, are counting on you.
With deep respect and sincere urgency,
(Insert Your Full Name Here)
