Why it’s important to reduce COVID-19 in prisons Prisons represent a public health and human rights crisis during the pandemic. By Shaheen Pasha Just over wo years ago, Adnan Khan was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison in California. Serving a sentence of 25 years to life at the time for felony murder, Khan stood side-by-side with other incarcerated men putting together packs for a hygiene drive for homeless youths — items many of the men paid for out of their accounts. It was one of the many ways, Khan said, that the prison residents aimed to give back despite their incarceration.