New York inmates are suing to watch the solar eclipse after state orders prisons locked down

By PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Inmates in New York are suing the state corrections department over the decision to lock down prisons during next Monday’s total solar eclipse. The suit filed Friday in federal court in upstate New York argues that the April 8 eclipse is an event significant to many religions and that the lockdown violates their constitutional rights to practice their faiths. The plaintiffs are six men with varying religious backgrounds who are incarcerated at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility. A corrections department spokesperson said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation but is currently reviewing all religious accommodation requests related to viewing the eclipse.