wfn.org | Sidebar: Interview with a corrections chief

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2000-112S

A Corrections chief looks at prison and its ministries

     Ashbel T. Wall--"A.T."-- came to the Rhode Island 
Department of Corrections' top spot earlier this year after 
serving as an assistant to the director for 13 years. He 
inherited a prison system that's come a long way from the 
days when lockdowns, riots and inmate "food wars" were the 
rule rather than the exception, and which faces some unique 
challenges in a state where no one lives very far away from 
the community's worst criminals. As a faithful 
Episcopalian--and a clergy spouse, married to the provost 
of the Cathedral of St. John in Providence--Wall brings an 
added spiritual dimension to a demanding public service 
position. Jan Nunley, editor of Risen, the newspaper of the 
Diocese of Rhode Island, interviewed Wall at his offices at 
the Adult Correctional Institution (ACI) in Cranston, Rhode 
Island.

     RISEN: This has to be a hard profession for a 
Christian to be in.

     ATW: It's a challenging business for anyone to be in. 
My faith certainly has shaped my choices. I feel as if 
Jesus calls us to use whatever gifts we have in the service 
of the Gospel. In my case those gifts include legal 
training and opportunities that I've had to work at various 
levels in criminal justice. When you read the New 
Testament, it is so clear that Jesus is calling his 
followers to pay attention to certain areas, and that 
prisons are one of those places where Jesus wants 
Christians to be. 

     RISEN: Part of that call, especially the call to 
Jubilee, is to "set the prisoners free." You can't exactly 
take that literally.

     ATW: Jesus certainly talks about setting the prisoners 
free. He also talks about visiting in prison. One of the 
most compelling passages of the New Testament for me is 
that famous passage from Matthew, where Jesus asks, "When I 
was in prison, did you visit me? For whatever you did to 
the least among us, so you did to me." 

     There are people here who need to be separated from 
the community, because they've been predatory and 
dangerous. Societal peace and harmony require that they be 
isolated. It's also true, however, that we have an 
obligation to prepare our inmates for release, so that they 
can be productive and law-abiding. Because they will be out 
there, whether they have been made ready or not. 

     RISEN: What's the role of faith communities at the 
ACI?

     ATW: We have hundreds of volunteers representing all 
faiths here--Jewish, Roman Catholic, the Protestant 
traditions, Muslims. We have people who function as in-
house chaplains for both the Protestant community and our 
Roman Catholic inmates, and for our Muslim inmates. 

     As a governmental agency, we don't sponsor religion. 
But in my experience, there are some generators in the 
lives of offenders that really can and do lead to 
transformation, and profound experience of faith is one of 
them. For us, it's incumbent on us to make this place very 
accessible to people who bring that opportunity to those 
inmates who are ready to take advantage of it.

     RISEN: Do you have any problems with certain belief 
systems or faith communities?

     ATW: Those faiths that promulgate hatred and division 
and racial superiority are security risks, and under the 
Constitution, our paramount concern must be security--we 
have to provide a place that is safe for staff and inmates. 
We do not have to accommodate those faiths if it's a 
security threat.

     RISEN: But that requires a certain delicacy of 
interpretation on your part.

     ATW: There's always a balance that we're trying to 
strike. Sometimes we get it right, and sometimes we don't.

     There's also the reality that a correctional setting 
is an artificial one, in which the imbalance of power 
invites manipulation. We have to be very careful that good 
people aren't manipulated by offenders who have other 
objectives in  mind. We train our volunteers, give them 
orientations, and try to be alert for situations in which 
the risk of exploitation is present.

     RISEN: Have you seen very many inmates who've had a 
genuine conversion experience?

     ATW: I have seen it happen. I've also come to a more 
sophisticated understanding of the change process. It is 
very often a case of two steps forward, one step back. We 
have people who leave with every good intention, do well 
for a while on the street, but then come back. The question 
is, were they crime-free for longer, and when they come 
back, can they pick up where they left off so that the next 
time they'll make it? 

     You can see the signs that somebody is ready to change 
when they start to express an interest in programs. Not 
just religious programs, but substance-abuse treatment, 
anger management, survivors of sexual trauma programs, 
parenting programs, learning trades, and a variety of other 
opportunities. 

     If we're serious about helping those people act on 
their good intentions, we absolutely have to give them more 
structure and support when they leave the walls behind and 
go out into the neighborhoods. One of the hardest things 
for somebody who leaves here is that they've often burned 
their bridges. Their community ties have been disrupted. 
They are subject to tremendous temptations. They have to 
make the decision each day to get on that bus and go to the 
job instead of going to the crack house that's at the bus 
stop. Church communities are so well equipped to integrate 
people without judgment.

     RISEN: How can churches prepare to receive someone 
who's just been released from prison?

     ATW: The work needs to begin when the offender is 
still in custody, so that a released inmate is not coming 
"cold" into a community. By and large our offenders work on 
the basis of relationships--doesn't everybody? If they meet 
someone "cold," it's very difficult for them to make the 
decision to reveal what they've done and where they've 
been. So there's a temptation to hide it, until such time 
as somebody may be ready to hear it. But if a relationship 
with a member of the congregation has been forged while the 
person is getting ready for release, the chances are much 
better. So it argues for having lots of people come in and 
get to know our inmates, not only for their offenses but 
for their struggles and their hopes.

     RISEN: How do you keep the staff and officers from 
becoming cynical or burned-out?

     ATW: When I said that Jesus calls us to attend to 
prison and to people in prison, that includes the staff. 
Our staff are "in prison" for eight hours or more a day for 
much of their lives. I say to some of our people, "You 
realize that you'll be in prison for longer than most of 
the people you see." It is a hard place to work. It is 
difficult to keep your bearings. In a way you feel like 
you're dealing with shadows all the time. Yet in survey 
after survey, when correctional officers are asked, "What 
do you find most satisfying about what you do?", they say, 
"It's the opportunity to work with people and help be a 
part of changing their lives." By large margins, it wins 
out over "guarding the public safety," it wins out over 
"enforcing the rules." 

     Similarly, when an ex-offender who's doing well is 
asked, "Who made a difference in your life?", by large 
margins the offender will choose a correctional officer. 
It's the correctional officer that's in the cellblock every 
day, who knows when they've gotten bad news from home, who 
knows when they're getting hassled by another inmate, who 
knows when they're feeling despondent. A correctional 
officer who has the strength to remain detached but still 
be a good listener and a mature and thoughtful giver of 
advice is the one who makes the difference.

     RISEN: Would you say the staff members here have a 
ministry?

     ATW: I feel as if a ministry is the attitude that you 
bring to what you do. I have known people in all lines of 
work that have a ministry, and I absolutely think that with 
the right attitude, this work--at every level--is a 
ministry to the public and to the people that we supervise.