S 2008

2026 -- S 2008
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LC003672
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  STATE  OF        RHODE  ISLAND
  IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
  JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
  ____________
  SENATE RESOLUTION
   EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF ASHBEL TINGLEY WALL, II
  Introduced By: Senators LaMountain, Lawson, Felag, de la Cruz, Euer, Patalano,
  Tikoian, Quezada, Sosnowski, and DiPalma
  Date Introduced: January 08, 2026
  Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration
1WHEREAS, It is with deep sadness that this Senate has learned of the passing of Ashbel
2 Tingley Wall, II, better known to all as A.T. Wall, the long-time distinguished Director of the
3 Rhode Island Department of Corrections. He was the beloved husband of Maria DeCarvalho for
4 44 years; and
5WHEREAS, A.T. Wall was born on a United States Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan, in
6 1953, where his father, John Wall, served as a Naval Officer during the Korean Conflict. Upon
7 his father and mother Mary Wall's return to Providence, A.T. Wall attended the Gordon School,
8 Moses Brown School and Phillips Exeter Academy. He later attended Yale University, where he
9 graduated summa cum laude, before attending and graduating from Yale Law School; and
10WHEREAS, The summer after his sophomore year at Yale, Mr. Wall participated in a
11 Study of the City internship in New Haven that introduced him to the juvenile justice system. Mr.
12 Wall was mesmerized by many important issues present in the cases he handled, and this
13 awakening led him to accept a position in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office after
14 graduating law school. Mr. Wall later served as the Director of the Manhattan Community
15 Service Sentencing Project, a program that provided job training as an alternative to incarceration
16 for non-violent repeat offenders; and
17WHEREAS, Mr. Wall returned to Rhode Island in 1985, and after a short stint as a policy
18 advisor in the Governor’s office, he began his distinguished public service career with the Rhode
19 Island Department of Corrections, where he served with distinction and abiding integrity for more
20 than three decades, including nearly two decades as Director. Upon his retirement, Mr. Wall was
1 the longest-serving Corrections Director in the United States; and
2WHEREAS, As Director, Mr. Wall was an innovator who emphasized improving inmate
3 health, education and rehabilitation, by supporting ex-offenders' reentry into civilian life. Under
4 Director Wall’s direction, he initiated a nation-leading medication-assisted treatment program for
5 inmates fighting addiction and substance abuse disorders. Another one of Director Wall’s
6 initiatives was a program in which inmates, under the supervision of correctional officers, would
7 train service dogs who would then be placed with injured military veterans and other disabled
8 people to provide companionship and support. One of Director Wall’s most gratifying
9 experiences was when he helped a young ex-offender to gain admission to Yale Law School; and
10WHEREAS, As a testament to A.T. Wall’s effective leadership as the Director of the
11 Rhode Island Department of Corrections for nearly two decades, there were no homicides in his
12 facilities, nor were there any successful escapes. Additionally, there were no efforts by the federal
13 courts to intervene in the department’s operations or policies. In recognition of his vast expertise
14 and experience within the corrections community, Mr. Wall was asked by the Civil Rights
15 Division to evaluate confinement conditions in correctional facilities across the United States and
16 was asked to testify before the United States Congress about the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
17 Mr. Wall also took part in strategic conversations at the White House; and
18WHEREAS, In his free time, Mr. Wall enjoyed listening to Top 40 music, hiking in the
19 White Mountains, and taking care of his beloved Labrador Retrievers, Chum and Charlie. Mr.
20 Wall was a devoted family man who, despite his taxing professional career, always found time to
21 have dinner at home with his family, to attend school concerts, plays, and sporting events, as well
22 as spending quality time with his family on vacations; and
23WHEREAS, A.T. Wall was also a man of deep faith and compassion for his fellow man.
24 He was a lifelong Episcopalian and his faith guided him and energized him as he navigated both
25 his family life and professional career; and
26WHEREAS, In addition to his wife, Maria DeCarvalho, Mr. Wall leaves behind his
27 children, Harrison Holley Wall, Ashbel Tingley Wall, III, as well as his son-in-law, Robert Jones,
28 his daughter-in-law, Adrienne Healey, his grandchildren, Holley Jones and Alton Healey-Wall,
29 and his sister, Mary Brooks “Polly” Wall. Mr. Wall also leaves behind his nieces and nephew,
30 Mary Coe and her husband, Thomas Kuhn, Livy Coe, and Annie Daly and her husband, Jon
31 Gentry, and Will Daly, as well as brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Mel and Carol DeCarvalho;
32 now, therefore be it
33RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby expresses its deepest
34 condolences to the Wall Family on the passing of Ashbel Tingley Wall, II; and be it further
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1RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to
2 transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Maria DeCarvalho and Family.
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