The New York State Department of Corrections will allow six inmates from a prison in the north of the state to contemplate the next solar eclipse, which will take place on April 8, as they had requested, local media report. A group of inmates at a New York prison sued the department, alleging that the total lockdown ordered for all prisons that would not allow them to view the solar eclipse was unconstitutional because it violates their religious freedom.
The department’s decision adopted following the lawsuit will affect only the six inmates who requested it, so the closure of all penitentiary centers during the eclipse will not be lifted, says The New York Times.
The six prisoners present a spiritual spectrum to say the least: they are a Baptist Christian, a Muslim, a Seventh-day Adventist, two Santeria practitioners and an atheist. United in their crusade, they went before a state federal court alleging that the closure violates their right to participate in a “significant religious event,” according to the legal document cited by several media outlets. All are inmates at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Sullivan County.
“This is a great victory for them; everyone is elated,” said Chris McArdle, one of the lawyers who represented the inmates, according to the New York media. “If we keep our fingers crossed that it won’t be cloudy or rainy, they will be able to sincerely practice their religious beliefs, which is the outcome we always wanted for them,” he added.
For its part, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision simply indicated in a statement that the lawsuit had reached “an appropriate resolution.”
Last March, the Department of Corrections sent a memo announcing that visits were canceled in all prisons due to the total darkness that will occur due to the eclipse, which is estimated to range between one minute and three and a half minutes. The eclipse will begin at 3:16 p.m. local time in New York, when the sun will be 90% covered, according to NASA data.
