New York inmates successfully sue for right to watch April eclipse

Six New York prison inmates have won their right to watch Monday’s solar eclipse, after suing the state’s prison system.

The group, all from different religious backgrounds, had argued that a planned lockdown of 23 correctional facilities during the rare event, effectively keeping them from viewing it, violated their religious freedom rights.

In an update on Thursday, the plaintiffs dropped the case after reaching “a favourable settlement of the matter” with the Department of Corrections, per court documents seen by The Independent.

Attorneys Chris McArdle, Sharon Steinerman, and Madeline Byrd of Alston & Bird told The Independent that the case was dismissed Thursday afternoon.

“We are pleased that, in response to our lawsuit alleging religious discrimination, New York State has entered into a binding settlement agreement that will allow our six clients to view the solar eclipse in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs,” a statement read.

The six men are all being held at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, around a two-hour drive north-west of New York City and on the edge of the “path of totality” of the eclipse on 8 April.

The lawsuit, filed last Friday, came from men of different religious backgrounds, including a Baptist, a Muslim, an atheist, a Seventh-Day Adventist and two practitioners of Santeria.

All argued that they had the right under their different beliefs to watch the event, as eclipses held significance for them all.

However, the New York State Department of Corrections had said it was planning to cancel visitation at all 23 facilities in the eclipse’s path, while other facilities would suspend visitation past 2pm.

The department said it would give eclipse viewing glasses to inmates and staff who would be able to see the event through windows, but those being held in accommodations without a view of the outside would not be allowed out to watch.

Thursday’s announcement did not specify how the plaintiffs would now be able to watch the event.

In response to Thursday’s news, the Department of Corrections told The Independent that it had already started reviewing religious accommodations requests when the lawsuit was filed.

“The Department has agreed to permit the six individuals to view the eclipse, while plaintiffs’ Counsel’s firm has agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice as to the six named individuals, among other things. The lawsuit came to an appropriate resolution,” a statement read.

The eclipse will happen on Monday afternoon, with the sun fully blocked by the moon for around five minutes.

Parts of New York state are within the so-called “path of totality”, which will stretch from the Pacific coast of Mexico, before heading up and east: taking in Texas, Oklahoma and all the way up to New England, before disappearing in Canada.