New York Jail Inmates Demand Facilities To Watch Solar Eclipse, File Court Case

Prisoners at the New York jail have demanded facilities from the jail administration to watch the total solar eclipse on April 8. The prisoners of the jail have filed a court case as well. According to some of the inmates, it is their religious right to watch the solar eclipse. The interesting update is that inmates of more than one religion have made the same request on religious grounds.

Americans across 13 different states in the United States will witness the sky go dark in the day on April 8. The USA is going to witness the solar eclipse again in 2044. Millions of people around Canada, the United States, and Mexico will have the opportunity to watch this celestial event on April 8.

The inmates filed the lawsuit after the state corrections department in March that “there will be no incarcerated movement in facilities from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and incarcerated individuals will remain in housing units except for emergencies”.

Six prisoners from different religious beliefs have filed the lawsuit at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility. The prison lockdown on April 8 violates the constitutional rights as per the plaintiffs’ argument by preventing them from practising their religious faith. “A solar eclipse is a rare, natural phenomenon with great religious significance to many,” as per the report published in The Guardian.

The Commissioner of the Correctional Home issued a “lockdown memo”. According to his order, all the prisoners will remain in their barracks from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Though, they can see this moment from their window.

North America will experience this total solar eclipse. It is happening after a long 7 years. On Monday, the eclipse will cross North America, continuing over Mexico, the United States and Canada.

As per the data provided by NASA, the path of the eclipse will continue from Mexico, entering the United States in Texas and travelling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Apart from these regions, the total solar eclipse will also be visible from small parts of Tennessee and Michigan