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.

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 lockdown violates inmates’ constitutional rights to practice their faiths by preventing them from taking part in a religiously significant event.

The plaintiffs are six men with varying religious backgrounds who are incarcerated at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Woodbourne. They include a Baptist, a Muslim, a Seventh-Day Adventist and two practitioners of Santeria, as well as an atheist.

“A solar eclipse is a rare, natural phenomenon with great religious significance to many,” the complaint reads, noting that Bible passages describe an eclipse-like phenomenon during Jesus’ crucifixion while sacred Islamic works describes a similar event when the Prophet Muhammad’s son died.

read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/new-york-inmates-are-suing-to-watch-the-solar-eclipse-after-state-orders-prisons-locked-down

  • Minotaur@lemm.ee
    1053·
    8 months ago

    The religious lawsuit is kind of bullshit, in my opinion - but they’re right to take action over what is essentially overt, purposeless cruelty to deprive people the ability to look outside simply in order to punish them for acts they’re already being punished for.

    Maybe if you let prisoners appreciate nature and life outside and science a bit more they would have a bit more motive to stay on the safe side of the law in the future. Random punitive shit like this only causes resentment and recidivism, which is I’m sure what the legal system wants anyway.

    • el_doso@lemmy.world
      26·
      8 months ago

      I more think it’s the optimal legal strategy to frame it this way, even though probably most of the plaintiffs aren’t necessarily thinking about it from a religious angle.

    • Coasting0942@reddthat.com
      201·
      8 months ago

      It’s not bullshit if the court is religious. Especially if they frame it as wanting to see the eclipse to better appreciate the Jesus.

    • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      153·
      8 months ago

      The religious lawsuit is kind of bullshit,

      Would it be bullshit if this were about Christian inmates being denied the ability to receive communion? Or if they were forcing Muslim or Jewish inmates to break halal and kosher respectively by making them eat certain things?

      Remind me what the First Amendment is about again?

      Also, quick google search found this SCOTUS case from 2005 that seems pretty cut and dry regarding this type of thing: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8047388

      Indulge me for a moment, and read the first paragraph of this article:

      The Supreme Court sided Tuesday with an unusual alliance of the Bush administration, liberal activists and conservative religious groups, agreeing that state prisons must accommodate the beliefs of witches, Satanists and other followers of non-mainstream religions.

      Can you imagine reading that amidst the Satanic Panic 2.0 we’ve been experiencing these past few years? LOL. They would completely ignore the implications that the case would have on their beliefs, knowing full well that the rules would continue to be applied selectively. That way they’re “hurting the right people.”

      Any conservatives who were of voting age back then: would love to see you actually reckon with this. I mean, you won’t, but it would be nice.

      The religious lawsuit is kind of bullshit,

      • Minotaur@lemm.ee
        63·
        8 months ago

        … yeah man I don’t think it’s an unfair assessment to say that at least the 10 guys all of different religions getting together and saying they all have a vaguely stated religious need to see the solar eclipse aren’t at least kind of bullshitting.

        They’re still right to do it. But no dude, these are not a group of guys who legitimately feel watching the solar eclipse is vital to their religion lol. They’re a group of guys trying to scrap a bit of freedom and dignity in an oppressive environment.

        • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          63·
          8 months ago

          The human experience is vast, and it’s presumptuous, naive, and arrogant to pretend to know the full extent of what other people believe.

                • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                  21·
                  8 months ago

                  Oh… Well I’ll pass. My background in engineering and construction tells me that it would be an awful investment due to liability and cost of maintenance/upkeep, especially given our crumbling infrastructure.

                  Thanks for the heads up though. Where do you even find a sale like that, Zillow?

        • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          3·
          8 months ago

          Christian’s are actually respecting that there’s legal protections to nature worship, much less non indigenous nature worship

          Yeah highly doubt that…

          Keep in mind, that article is about events that occurred in 2005. To say a lot has changed since then would be a colossal understatement. Especially when we’re talking about the attitudes of the average Republican then vs. now.