The Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) operated as a prison for 80 years until its closure in 1990 following a class action lawsuit by incarcerated people for inhumane conditions and overcrowding. Now, OSR is better known as the backdrop for movies and historic tours, conferences, Halloween events, and even eclipse viewings. In fact, OSR will host visitors for a viewing of the total solar eclipse on April 8. But while attendees will enjoy a live DJ and food trucks in the “prison yard” on Monday, actual incarcerated people in other parts of the country will miss the historic event.
In New York, the state’s Department of Corrections and Community Services (DOCCS) will institute a lockdown during Monday’s eclipse. The agency has also announced it will cancel visitation at the 23 prisons that are in the “path of totality” where a full eclipse can be viewed, and DOCCS will also limit visits at other prisons in partial view.
According to a March 11 memo from DOCCS Acting Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III, the lockdown will occur between 2 and 5 p.m. ET, when incarcerated people must remain in their housing units. Confusingly, a DOCCS spokesperson also said that DOCCS purchased and will distribute safety glasses for the incarcerated populations within the path of totality.
DOCCS’ decision to lock down state facilities has received backlash from advocates, including attorneys at the Legal Aid Society of New York. In a press release, Legal Aid Society Prisoners’ Rights Project Director Mary Lynne Werlwas called upon Gov. Kathy Hochul to rescind the policy.
“It is complete nonsense for state prisons to say that an eclipse means they cannot safely handle visitors and that people must be locked in cells,” said Werlwas. “The absence of any rational connection between sunlight and visitor policy or the safe movement within a prison makes clear that this is simply an excuse to hurt families and incarcerated people.”
The lockdown policy has also fueled a lawsuit from six men incarcerated at Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Woodbourne, New York. The suit, filed against New York DOCCS, Martuscello, DOCCS Superintendent David Howard, and Deputy Superintendent for Program Services Danielle Glebocki, argues that for the plaintiffs, “April’s solar eclipse is a religious event that they must witness and reflect on to observe their faiths.”
The suit outlines the spiritual significance of the eclipse to each of the different faith traditions represented by the six plaintiffs, including Christianity, Islam, Santeria, and atheism. The plaintiffs also highlight how each faith community uses the eclipse as an opportunity to gather together and replenish spiritually—a particularly salient point given how prisons are often viewed as potential sites for repentance.
When plaintiff Jeremy Zielinski first filed a request in January to view the eclipse, Woodbourne officials granted the request March 5. According to the suit, three days later, Zielinski filed another request so that other incarcerated men who hold “sincere religious beliefs regarding the importance of the solar eclipse” could be allowed to view it alongside him. On March 11, Martuscelo released his lockdown memo, effectively denying Zielinski’s request.
Throughout March, other named plaintiffs in the suit filed individual complaints petitioning to view the eclipse based on their own religious faiths. They were denied, with DOCCS stating that April 8 is not an officially recognized religious holiday. The plaintiffs argue that the finality of the lockdown memo, alongside the lengthiness of the facility’s grievance program, has necessitated a lawsuit if they hope to receive permission in time for Monday’s eclipse. Their appeal to the court seeks both an expedited judgment and an order prohibiting “further illegal violations of religious exercise.”
New York state DOCCS did not mandate a similar lockdown during the 2017 eclipse. Reporting from other states at the time shows that whether incarcerated people can view these historic events varies by place and time. Last October, Idaho’s Department of Correction allowed incarcerated people to step out and view the eclipse. Meanwhile in Jackson, Wyoming, people detained at the county’s Teton Jail were not permitted to view the 2017 eclipse in a directive that also extended to the facility’s staff.
Monday’s total solar eclipse is the first one in New York in nearly a century. It remains unknown if the men behind the lawsuit filed in a northern New York federal court against DOCCS leadership will have the chance to see it.
“Watching the eclipse with the people I know here is a way for me to feel closer to God,” wrote Travis Hudson, one of the men behind the lawsuit.
UPDATE 4/4/24: On April 4, New York’s prison agency settled the lawsuit, allowing for the six plaintiffs to view the eclipse. The plaintiffs expressed disappointment that the settlement does not include all incarcerated New Yorkers, though it does make considerations for those who want to view it for religious reasons.
