Inmates at New York prison will get to watch eclipse after all

Inmates at New York state’s Woodbourne Correctional Facility will get to view Monday’s solar eclipse after all, lawyers for the inmates who sued over the matter said Thursday.

Inmates at New York state’s Woodbourne Correctional Facility will get to view Monday’s solar eclipse after all, lawyers for the inmates who sued over the matter said Thursday.

Six inmates at the medium-security men’s prison in Woodbourne in upstate New York sued the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision over not being allowed to view the eclipse.

The inmates argued that denying them the right to see the total eclipse would violate their religious rights, and that they view it as a religious event.

The lawyers in the case, Chris McArdle, Sharon Steinerman, and Madeline Byrd of Alston & Bird, said they the corrections department will allow the inmates to see it.

Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Sullivan County, N.Y., in 2001.Ruth Fremson / The New York Times via Redux“We are pleased that, in response to our lawsuit alleging religious discrimination, New York State has entered into a binding settlement agreement that will allow our six clients to view the solar eclipse in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs,” they said in a statement.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/inmates-new-york-prison-will-get-watch-eclipse-rcna146505

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