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Several New York prison inmates are suing the state over a planned lockdown at correctional facilities during the upcoming total solar eclipse.
The federal lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of New York on Friday, March 29, on behalf of six inmates who are incarcerated at Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Sullivan County.
It states that although they come from varying backgrounds and hold different religious beliefs, “they have each expressed a sincerely held religious belief that April’s solar eclipse is a religious event that they must witness and reflect on to observe their faiths.”
As Daily Voice previously reported, 23 New York State prisons will fall directly within the “path of totality” on Monday afternoon, April 8, meaning they will experience up to three and a half minutes of total darkness during the “Great Northern American Eclipse.
Out of precaution, all 23 of those correctional facilities will be locked down and operate on a holiday schedule, Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) told Daily Voice.
As such, no visitors will be allowed, and inmates will be confined to their housing or work units. The move is meant to ensure the safety of New York’s prison population as well as correctional staff, Mailey said.
“Recognizing the surge of visitors expected in the region during the eclipse, the department is working with the New York State Eclipse Interagency Task Force to ensure DOCCS visitors and staff are not stuck in traffic or otherwise stranded,” he said.
Mailey added that the department purchased and will distribute solar eclipse safety glasses for all inmates and prison staff “in the event they will be able to view the eclipse from their assigned work location or housing units.”
But that means that not every inmate will be able to view the eclipse, thus denying “their statutory and constitutional rights to practice their religions,” the complaint alleges.
It goes on to argue that the importance of the solar eclipse to Christians stems from portions of the Bible.
“The eclipse holds special religious significance to (plaintiff) Mr. Hudson because he believes it mirrors the solar eclipse described in the Bible as having happened on the day of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion,” it says.
“He sincerely believes that it is vital to his faith to observe the solar eclipse and reflect on what he believes Jesus saw moments before he died on the cross to forgive Mr. Hudson’s sins.”
The lawsuit – filed on behalf of a Baptist, a Muslim, a Seventh-Day Adventist, two practitioners of Santería, and one atheist – specifies that it is being brought on behalf of the six inmates named as well as “all others similarly situated.”
They’re asking a federal judge to declare that their statutory and constitutional rights have been violated and order DOCCS to allow them to view the eclipse. They also want an order prohibiting future violations.
Click here to view the full complaint.
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