I think there may be a large pool of ex-prisoners who know the law very well. Many have worked as jailhouse lawyers, either on their own case, or fighting case

I think there may be a large pool of ex-prisoners who know the law very well. Many have worked as jailhouse lawyers, either on their own case, or fighting cases for others, for years, and have a very good real-world understanding of criminal law and sentencing. Many of them are good enough to write legal pleadings. The problem is, having a conviction, it's extremely hard, if not impossible, to become a lawyer in the US. The best they can hope for is to become a paralegal or research assistant.