Cape May County Herald

Reflecting is a daily activity in prison — it comes with the territory. Not that it’s forced upon you — it is solely activated by the inmate’s forever wandering mind. As inmates mull over their thoughts, the results become apparent in their countenance. There are only two ways this can go — depression or progression. So here’s the problem: Whether we are reflecting on an ugly past or reminiscing on the beautiful "thens," we are missing the "now." The past is a dead time zone, as God’s voice is in the present tense; and He is saying, “Can you ‘here’ me NOW?” ... Read Article >

Cape May County Herald

I’ve cried tears of shame publicly for what I’ve done and tears of regret privately for what cannot be undone. I’ve cried tears of grief publicly when my brother died and tears of joy privately for where he now resides. I’ve cried many tears of pain as a baby, as a teen, and as a man; but now as a prisoner, I cry a different kind of tear, one that expresses the words if my heart could speak...

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Cape May County Herald

There is clearly nothing that I can do to erase what I have done to be in prison today. I know this. I also know that no matter what I do from this point on, it will never be good enough in the eyes of some to rectify what I have done. I know this too.
I have actually been called a “hero” by some people for stepping up and owning my mistake. This makes me uncomfortable. It is hard to believe that there are many victims out there who have never received an apology by the person responsible for their reckless decision. I have also been called a “murderer.” This makes me less uncomfortable for I am undeserving of the first term and have already called myself the second. Read Article >

Cape May County Herald

This “Prison Talk” comes with more appreciation and love than any amount of words could ever express. It is in this month of June that we are hallmarked into honoring our fathers, but this should never be limited to a single day. So I would like to honor the role of fatherhood while speaking directly to my own father, John Maher.

Dad, I love you and I am sorry all in one sentence. I know you do not want me to dwell on the past with yet another apology because you have already forgiven me unconditionally. So, Dad, I thank you for your love and the Christ-like example that you unfailingly model for all of your sons. Your unwavering integrity, without spot or blemish, precedes you, and your accountability to God goes without question... Read Article >

Cape May County Herald

Memorial Day Weekend is upon us again. From your position, that means summer is back at the Jersey Shore! The anticipation, the build-up, the planning—it’s finally here. From my position, as a prisoner, this time can be very hard—knowing that family and friends on the outside are going to gather at parties, picnics, and barbecues for the summer’s official kick-off while we are locked away from it all... Read Article >

The Record NorthJersey.Com

Rebeka Verea would have been celebrating her 25th birthday on April 24. The vivacious, intelligent, ambitious young woman was killed in June 2005, while a passenger in a horrific automobile accident on Westside Avenue in North Bergen, hours after graduating from Cliffside Park High School.

Weeks after the tragedy, in an effort to channel their grief, Verea's parents, Dr. Jorge L. Verea and Lourdes Verea, formed the Rebeka Verea Foundation in their daughter's honor. The mission of the foundation is to educate teens about driving responsibly. Its message is poignant yet simple: "say yes to life: drive responsibly."...

The most stirring moments of the symposium came during the presentation of Andrea Maher, executive director of the Be Still Foundation. Maher's son, Matthew Maher, an honors student from Cape May who attended Temple University on a full scholarship and went on to play professional soccer for the Philadelphia Kixx, killed a man, Hort Kap, when he was driving drunk on the Atlantic City Expressway...

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Cape May County Herald

After the accident and prior to sentencing day, I tried to envision my future. Friends continually asked me what it felt like knowing I was going to prison. I could never quite express the feeling in words. The analogy I used to satisfy their curiosity and my own impending reality was best illustrated from an amphibian’s perspective. I would say, “Seeing and speaking of my future (prior to entering prison) is like a frog seeing and speaking of the ocean from a well.” It could not be perceived.

Now currently in this “well of prison,” and 27 months into my time, I realize that unlike the frog, my state of mind was already established to be content. Obviously, uncertain situations can make you feel uneasy or anxious, but I truthfully was not. I was not “fronting” or faking tough, but the only open logical position for me to lock my mind into was upward. So upward I looked and have not stopped since the moment the doors clanged and locked behind me. Read Article >

Cape May County Herald

A famous proverb states, “Pride comes before a fall.” You can be certain that every fall leaves you on the ground with a decision to make from that downward position. If you need a picture on pride to teach a lesson, use my failure and the ripple effect of pain it caused.

My fall landed me in prison, but that is the least of the burden I carry and not the reason I share my “talk from prison.” I share because I do not want to see anyone take a fall because they ignored their pride. The headline read, “Local professional soccer player involved in fatal DUI accident.” That was the sickening obvious fact, but the underlying root story would never be read. My decision to drink and drive stemmed from a thorn disguised as a rose; the rose of confidence. Read Article >

Cape May County Herald

There is clearly nothing that I can do to erase what I have done to be in prison today. I know this. I also know that no matter what I do from this point on, it will never be good enough in the eyes of some to rectify what I have done. I know this too.
I have actually been called a “hero” by some people for stepping up and owning my mistake. This makes me uncomfortable. It is hard to believe that there are many victims out there who have never received an apology by the person responsible for their reckless decision. I have also been called a “murderer.” This makes me less uncomfortable for I am undeserving of the first term and have already called myself the second. Read Article >

Cape May County Herald

I have done several interviews since being incarcerated, including one for an A&E forensic documentary, “Speed Kills,” for the recently released series, “Bloodwork,” on the Crime and Investigation Channel. Interviews are always emotionally trying as I am forced to face the hard questions and relive the events that placed me here. Not “hard” because I am in prison, but because I’m flooded with emotions each time I revisit that day, and the heartbreak I caused the Kap family. “Remorse” seems an inadequate term to describe how I feel about causing the death of an innocent man. Read Article >