New York inmates allowed to view eclipse after suing

A group of inmates in New York have been granted permission to view the upcoming eclipse after agreeing to settle a lawsuit against the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

The lawsuit, filed last Friday in federal court in upstate New York, argued that the prison’s decision to classify the eclipse as a holiday violated the inmates’ constitutional rights to practice their faith.

Jeremy Zielinski, one of the six plaintiffs, is an atheist. He argued that viewing the solar eclipse is a “rare, natural phenomenon with great religious significance to many.”

Zielinski and the other inmate plaintiffs reached a “favorable settlement of the matter” with the corrections department, according to a court document filed Thursday.

Declaring the event a holiday means that individuals are required to stay in their housing units from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., unless a situation arises requiring individuals to go to emergency stations. Those hours are usually the times inmates would be scheduled for outdoor recreation, The Associated Press reported.

The lawsuit pointed to the religious significance of a solar eclipse, arguing that the Bible described a similar phenomenon during Jesus’s crucifixion and Islamic texts describe a similar event when the Prophet Muhammad’s son died, according to the AP.

The men, who have varying religious backgrounds, are currently incarcerated at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Woodbourne, N.Y.

Woodbourne isn’t in the path of totality but is estimated to have 94.7 percent coverage during the solar event, according to NASA’s tracker.

Daniel Martuscello III, the acting commissioner for the department, issued a memo March 11 announcing that all state correctional facilities will operate on a holiday schedule on Monday during the eclipse, prompting the lawsuit.

The Hill has reached out to the department for more information, which said in a statement to NBC News that it had begun reviewing religious complaints against the memo even before the lawsuit was filed.

“We continued our analysis and review during the pendency of the lawsuit,” according to the statement. “The Department has agreed to permit the six individuals to view the eclipse.”  

The Hill has reached out to the inmates’ lawyers for more information, but Chris McArdle, partner at law firm Alston & Bird, said in a statement to Fox News that the firm representing the plaintiffs is pleased that the settlement agreement will allow the inmates to view the eclipse.