The six prison inmates from New York who sued to watch the solar eclipse that will cross over much of the United States on Monday have reached an agreement with the corrections department to view the rare event, according to a report.
The six prisoners at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility filed a federal lawsuit after the state corrections department ordered 44 prisons to be locked down during the hours when the celestial event would be visible.
The men — a Baptist, a Muslim, a Seventh-Day Adventist, two practitioners of Santeria and an atheist — claimed their constitutional rights to practice their faiths were violated.
"A solar eclipse is a rare, natural phenomenon with great religious significance to many," their complaint reads.
It will "warrant gathering, celebration, worship, and prayer," the complaint added.
Thomas Mailey, a spokesman for the corrections department, said the corrections department has agreed to let the six view the eclipse and the inmates have agreed to drop their lawsuit, CBS News New York reported.
"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," the inmates' lawyers said
