The media coverage on the parole hearing for Austin Vantrease (of Newark, Delaware) is already beginning. It’s hitting the broadcast and print media, not to mention the social media. Vantrease’s co-attacker, Jonathan Matthew May (also of Newark, Delaware) only served seven months in a West Virginia regional jail and was released. Let’s hope the same “Get Out of Jail Free” card is not given to Vantrease in just a few short weeks!
Also, the Anti-Parole Petition, that over 148,000 people have now signed, continues to be big news. Our family thanks each of you who cared enough to sign it. It makes a statement that if criminals will not personally accept accountability, then society will impose it upon them. Sure, there are failures in the institutions and systems that are meant to protect and uphold the citizens rights, but society is often the great equalizer when these civil instruments don’t do what they were meant to do.
This anti-parole petition is proof of this to me.
To Put This in Perspective
In the history of petitions on Change.org, the largest service of its kind that began over five years ago, our petition is now in the top 10 most popular in the category of Criminal Justice. This category is the largest one used, by far. For all petitions ever created, no matter the category, it is in the top 100.
Currently at #60 and climbing!
Media Coverage
![Austin Vantrease in his orange prison jumpsuit. I believe this was taken at his sentencing. [Source: WDTV]](https://i0.wp.com/ryansrally.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/vantrease-WDTV.png?resize=300%2C282&ssl=1)
Austin Vantrease in his orange prison jumpsuit. I believe this was taken at his sentencing where the Judge allowed for up to 10 years in the State prison. [Source: WDTV]
“To beat a person senseless and render him a vegetable for the rest of his life seems to be a crime that would be deserving of more then three years in prison,” said Harrison County resident, Joe Leighton. [Source: WDTV. Read entire article.]
To follow is a short, thirty-second segment from WBOY (serves much of West Virginia):
WBOY.com: Clarksburg, Morgantown: News, Sports, Weather
Related articles
And Debbie, by the way – you stated that the VanTrease family have been putting themselves in the Diviney family’s shoes for the past three and a half years and counting?
Surely you jest.
Debbie, may your conscience awaken to the truth of the awful reality Austin created for Ryan, Kari, Nana and Papa, grandparents, cousins and friends. And, too, your heart, mind and spirit expand to grasp the depth and breadth of suffering that Austin himself started on November 7, 2009 for the Divineys that continues to this day and has no end.
There is a perpetrator, Austin, and there are victims – Ryan and his family.
There are those who need to seek forgiveness – Austin and his family, and now I see, too, all those who are jumping on the false reality bandwagon with the VanTrease family.
And there are those who need justice and as much compensation and compassion as possible for the enormous damage wrought – that would be the Diviney family.
What about this can you not process, or is it unjustified anger and a refusal to accept the truth that blinds you?
What should have made the Vantrease family angry was their son and Jon Mays behavior!
The fact that they are mad at the victims and the media only goes to show their twisted version of reality in this situation.
You are so so wrong! Unless Austin is in the physical condition that Ryan is in there is no way that the Vantrease parents have put themselves in the Diviney family shoes. The sleepless nites watching their son in the hospital, the incredible financial burden, missing their only daughters high school graduation, no more family vacations, just to name a few. You Austin lovers need to get a grip and understand that he basically murdered Ryan and the courts convicted him and sentenced him to prison not the media, or Ryan’s friends or his family.
Your thinking only goes to show that Austin should not be released because you can not accept the fact that he wronged someone and should be punished Why should the courts release him to people with this kind of thinking?
I am done with you people, my energies will go towards helping the Diviney family.
Thats good everyone is entitled to there own opinion
Anna, You have no idea what you are saying about the Vantrease family! None what so ever! Did you think that all of this media, website shit wouldn’t make anyone angry? T
hey are a close knit family that has only wanted the best for all 3 of their children! This truly was a tragedy, but I don’t think you have all the facts, especially when all they hear and see on this site is how bad of parents they are, how un caring they are, when that is so far from the truth. Try putting yourself in their shoes for a change. ALL OF YOU SHOULD DO THAT!!! They have put themselves in Ryan’s family shoes. For the past 3 years!!!!
Joe, may you never be forced to endure the daily torture of seeing someone you love forever broken. Justice, as paltry as it is, would be all you would have left to seek – and the last thing you would want to hear is all the reasons why the perpetrator of the torture was not at fault.
Well whatever justice you feel is just is being fullfilled as we speak my point is that its not going to kill the divineys family pain….and i am not saying austin was not at fault All i am saying is austin and jon are not moster thugs who deserve to rot in hell like you people choose to make them out to be.
Joe – not in your wildest dreams can you imagine the extent of Ryan’s injuries, and how Austin’s actions that night have forever destroyed the peace of mind of Ryan’s sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, his mother and his father. Austin can stand and walk and speak and take care of himself – with his fists and feet he robbed Ryan of all these abilities, along with his future – you simply cannot make any kind of comparison in any way to how Austin is being treated verses the horror he inflicted on Ryan and his family. With all due respect, Joe, you just cannot.
Ok well lets give austin the death penalty would that make all you people happy….thats what jesus would do right??? An eye for an eye lets ruin more lices keep him in jail that will make u sick people feel better right… everything is austins fault he is such a bad person…. right???ryan is the good guy all american boy who never started anything…atleast thats what the media and today show says haha u people are nutz ryan was a perfect boy you people are naive and ignoRant to the facts when i say ignoranf i mean the exact defimition any sane person would not be able to make that kind of conclusion based om all the facts.
MK and Joe, I can’t imagine how you’re able to rationalize the perversely violent events of that horrible night, but I strongly suggest that you each closely view the video and watch with your own eyes as VanTrease and his accomplice savagely attack Ryan, then run and hide behind a dumpster while he lay seizing on the ground. The court records show that these two disturbed souls then went to a party. Those are the facts of the case, and if you are unwilling or unable to process them, that is an issue you must live with. Don’t bother peddling your imagined version of events to people who are fully aware of the facts of this case!
Paula with all due respect the video doesnt show the whole thing i have seen the video heard the stories heard you close minded peoples side of it FACT the camera doesnt show ryan yelling obscenities with his drunk lunatic maniac appalling friends….FACT ryan and his friends threatened my friends and my friends were just answering there challenge….not starting stuff like u close minded people.make us look out to be….FACT yes if the shoe was on thd other foot and ryan won the fight and altercation after starting al this nonsense than the vantrease family would have enough decenchly to give your son a second chance at life….if austin was a vegetable right now the vantrease family would forgice u …its called being open minded and not making presumptious judgemnents…. k thNks
Sorry, but the words decency and Vantrease family do not belong in the same sentence. I was at the trial and saw them in the garage screaming at the Diviney family. The police had to be called. Decent people would not act like this.
Again, Here, Here Joe!!!!!!!!
Thank you Joe! I do not know anyone involved as you do. However, I find it disturbing that people will make judgments with very little facts. First let me start by saying I find this whole situation very tragic. The trauma that Ryan has been through can never be reversed and we cannot turn back time. It is truly a sad situation. However, I feel it is sad on both ends. I have numerous degrees in Criminal Justice and I live in a country where we must listen to BOTH sides without bias and without being close-minded. This country’s justice system was formulated with the intent to hear both sides and to hand down a fair and just decision based on the FACTS of a case. I find it very disturbing that no one has thought to maybe dig a little deeper. Has the media truly taken over and that is all we go by. I would like to think our country’s citizens are much smarter than that. How many times have we seen blatant injustices occur, yet the media had previously crucified that person? How many more times will we allow what someone else tells us, dictate our personal stance on an issue? I understand what Ryan’s family is trying to accomplish, and I know that I would be hurt given that was my child. However, being that we are not the final judgment here on Earth, it is our human & moral duty to hear ALL parties and ALL evidence. Has anyone spoken to the Vantreases personally? Has anyone read the entire transcript of the case? Has anyone spoken to witnesses and heard their TRUE statements? These are the things that I would have to do before I go giving my opinion on a case or bashing anyone’s character or family. From what I have read so far about the defendant, he was not even the one that caused the greatest injury to Ryan, yet the person who did, has been free for years. Were you all aware of that? I haven’t seen one comment about that person. And because of the lack of outcry against that individual, it has caused me to dig much deeper. Hopefully you all will do the same. The point of the matter is that Ryan was seriously injured by the actions of ALL of the parties involved. Yet many have crucified Mr. Vantrease only. That is disturbing within itself. My law professors did not have to tell me that my decisions and opinions should not be based on propaganda and media; I pretty much came to that conclusion on my own as an adult; an adult that would always want justice served, and for the person(s) responsible to pay for a crime they commit. I just wish more of us, who are supposedly for justice, would see past the surface veil and find out more information on our own instead of what we are readily fed.
Thanks mk u r right there is so much more that happened that night brandon and alex told me the TRUE story…. and watching my best friends get made oyt to look like thugs is disgusting and appaling… there is a whole nother side austin and john didnt beat up ryan forno reason….ryan instigated the whole thing…period FACT
And pray for ryan but also pray for austin fhat he comes home he has done his time you will not keep him locked up forever regardless if he stays in there till he is 29 he will have warm open welcoming arms when he gets home where he belongs
Here, Here, MK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe, if you are such good friends with Jon May and Austin Vantrease tell us this. Jon May quietly slithered out of prison early and has done nothing to show remorse or pay restitution. Just how will letting Austin out early help him pay his debt to society? A prison sentence is a debt to society, he and Jon May both got off with very light sentences for basically killing a person. They both have a court ordered financial debt to the Diviney family. Austin has made no attempt to work in prison to start to save money to pay restitution, what makes you think he will work when he gets out? He could be doing his “Do as I say, Not as I did” speech in prison to youth offenders. He refuses to work according to the last parole hearing board. Jon May has not done anything to pay his share and he has been out for a while. As for Ryan’s friend running..he had a concussion from two broken jaws thanks to your friends, he was sucker punched and his head hit the cement ground. He had no idea where he was or how he got home.
Also, glad to hear Jon and Austin would not hit someone for NOOOO reason, most people wouldn’t hit anyone for ANY reason whether they had one or not except to protect oneself from imminent physical danger. You need to look at the tape from the trial that was introduced as evidence showing your friends were not in imminent physical danger. Just exactly how did Austin explain to you why he kicked someone in the head twice while they were on the ground unconscious? I believe the testimony was ” like he was punting a football”.
Joe, you seem fairly reasonable besides a few spelling and grammar errors, you need to rethink who you associate with.
The spelling errors is due to my touchscreen phone…… and they ryan and his friends started the altercation….. ryan and his friends ran there lips and trash talked them that night…. you people act like austin and jon are monsters….there not they could have gone to anycollege in the country well educated boys… kind hearted giving young men….they just didnt take shit ryan started all of it point blank
Keep him locked up
Joe, OMG! Prisons are filled with good kids from good families who deserve to be out of jail to live their lives. What about their victims? What do they deserve? Prisons were built specifically for good kids like Austin, so they don’t hurt kids like you, me and Ryan Diviney. He is EXACTLY where he belongs! Most of society is sickened by his actions, they are barbaric and animalistic. Those who are not are the ones in prison with him. You don’t kick people in the head, especially twice while they are on the ground unconscious. STOP making excuses for bad behavior. Austin had a choice, he choose to kick Ryan.
I am personally friends with jon may austin ans alex woods bg and there js a whole nother side to the storY… went to school with jon… and u also dont start shit with kids when your drunk or run your mouth like that snd leave your friends behind i am not making excuses just stating facts….its done let him get out and pay his deby back to society
The only time it is ever acceptable to kick another human in the head is if they are hurting you & it is done in self defense…PERIOD!
And austin will get out of jail eventually…..and when it happens u people wont be satisfied it trn years from now when he is walking the streets being a positiv le human being showing youth the wrongs of whow one poor choice ruined his life youbpeople will still be complaining…its never enough for you…. and fyi jjon may and austi. Would NEVER EVER EVER HIT SOMEONE FOR NO REASON NOOOO REASO period stop making judgements
I totally understand that this was an argument than went horribly wrong & in a short period of time, but when we make mistakes in this society we have to pay for what we have done, and sometimes the consquences are going to be more severe than we would like. Most accidents happen because someone made a wrong decision, in the blink of an eye. Like kicking someone who you are arguing with over a senseless baseball game.
man austin is a good kid good family sorry about what happened but he deserves to be out of jail and live his life
Got people to sign letters when they came by for fireworks – mailed off nine letters this morning –
Now on to the neighbors.
Mother VanTrease is very scary – how her son became so lacking in a conscience is now extremely clear. She has no qualms about lying through her teeth. Sick.
Just finished wth the Choose Progress website of Andy Vantrease. What a read.
Bob Vantrease writes….that Austin has handled the situation with dignity and humility, …was in the wrong place at the wrong time. WOW!! Coincidently so was Ryan Diviney!
Andy Vantrease writes that the two groups were drunk, but only mentions where Ryan and his friends came from, she fails to mention where Austin and his friends came from. Where did they go after they left Ryan bleeding and having seizures on the ground? I didn’t read that in her account of what happened. Where were they the next day, week? few weeks?
Andy also writes that Austin wants to rebuild his life, funny I am sure Ryan does too, he just will never have the chance.
Austin has had the chance in prison. He has refused! Is he counseling the youth offenders in jail? This will look good for a future job resume. Is he working in jail to payback the restitution? Is he continuing the healing process with the Diviney family? What exactly has he done in the last several years that he will continue and build upon if he is released?
Also, will he be doing his youth counseling with his friend Jon May? Will this include counseling the youth offenders of tomorrow against sucker punches and repeat football like kicks to another humans head?
Anna, I’ve been monitoring this for a while now. It took a month for people to notice it, but now that it is discovered by someone other than me it opens the door to address it. I was just waiting…
WOW. So, I went to the news articles and read them and then read the comments from WDTV. There was a web site listed that named itself “Choose Progress”. Talk about totally seeing things from a warped perspective. And claiming that Ryan was using drugs that night? Can you say SLANDER? I am completely enraged. I admit, I hadn’t signed the petition until I read that site, but I definitely have now – YOUR petition.
Thank you. Oh, and Ryan was not using drugs. I have the hospital toxicology report that says he was clean.
There was NO WAY I would believe that Ryan was using drugs. It is not in the makeup of the young man I have grown to love, admire and respect through this web site.
oh you will get yours Austin and Mr May!!! God will get his vengances for your cruelity!!
Signed and praying.
We must remember, God is in control and these men will never escape God’s judgement.
Signed and will be sharing praying for Ryan and his family this monster does not deserve a life after takin one
This guy should be locked up for life. He destroyed the life of a complete family and their son. WHere is the justice.
Signed and shared!!!
They need to keep him there FOREVER.
Signed and shared!
needs to help for a very long time he may do it again who ever knows
If he gets out; we’ll hunt him! 🙁
He doesn’t deserve his freedom until Ryan is able to walk and talk and be the person he once was before this beast without a conscious beat him so viciously. THEN let Ryan decide his fate.
Ken I just signed the petition, so sorry for the delay. I thought I had signed already but decided to enter my info again just to be sure and it said thank you for registering. Sooo glad I double checked. Your family is in my prayer.
Justice must be insisted upon by the people!! Ryan we will not let you down.
The People will see to it that Vantrease is not released in 2013!
The People will see to it that Vantrease is not released in 2013!
not again!! he doesnt deserve another hearing. he deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life!! do we need to sign this again??
not again!! he doesnt deserve another hearing. he deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life!! do we need to sign this again??
They can’t let this man out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ryan and his family need JUSTICE!!!!!!!! Thoughts and prayers are with Ryan and his family…..STAY STRONG NEVER GIVE UP!!!!! GOD BLESS
They can’t let this man out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ryan and his family need JUSTICE!!!!!!!! Thoughts and prayers are with Ryan and his family…..STAY STRONG NEVER GIVE UP!!!!! GOD BLESS
Hoping this monster (don’t even want to classify him as human) remains behind bars. What he did to your son is horrible & the fact that he has no remorse makes it that much worse. Best of luck to you & your family in these upcoming, and I’m sure very stressful weeks. Thoughts are with you all!
Hoping this monster (don’t even want to classify him as human) remains behind bars. What he did to your son is horrible & the fact that he has no remorse makes it that much worse. Best of luck to you & your family in these upcoming, and I’m sure very stressful weeks. Thoughts are with you all!
Ken, Signed, written and praying!
Needs to be Locked up in HELL !