While most of the 31 million people in America living in or near the path of totality for the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, will have to do little more that afternoon than stroll outside around 3 p.m. for a few minutes to witness the historical celestial moment, incarcerated individuals are among those who will have little autonomy over how and if they’ll get a chance to see the spectacle.
In New York, where 29 of 62 counties are in the path of totality, prisoners have filed a lawsuit following notice that the state would be instituting a mandatory system-wide lockdown during the event due to safety concerns. “I don’t believe that just because I am incarcerated that I should be denied this opportunity,” one told Hell Gate, which first reported the news.
In Michigan, where a partial eclipse will be viewable, the state’s Department of Corrections told the Free Press there will be no changes to normal yard times, meaning many will be under an open sky Monday afternoon, even if, as the paper reports, many prisoners aren’t even aware an eclipse is on the horizon. (The state won’t, however, be providing any protective glasses.)
Here in Ohio, where hundreds of thousands of eclipse tourists are expected to arrive before Monday, the state’s Department of Rehabilition and Correction has issued no statewide policy, a spokesperson told Scene.
The decisions, then, have been left entirely up to individual facilities, meaning whether an incarcerated individual in the state will watch history depends on where they’re currently serving their sentence.
Many, but not all, will have open yard time during Monday afternoon to allow inmates to catch history.
Those include Marion Correctional Institution, Pickaway Correctional Institution, Grafton Correctional Institution, Chillicothe Correctional Institution, and Mansfield Correctional Institution (minimum security camp only).
Others, however, such as Trumbull and Lorain, will have a closed yard during the eclipse though not restrict inmates to their cells that afternoon. Yards at Mansfield, Dayton and the Ohio Reformatory for Women will all be closed as well.
Glasses will be provided where yards are open, an ORC spokesperson said.
Looking at the sun during an eclipse without protective eyewear can cause serious damage to the retina.
The next total solar eclipse viewable in Ohio won’t occur until 2099.
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Vince Grzegorek
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