the thing is, to spearhead prison reform, you need someone who was once a prisoner, and the intersection of that with "compassionate, honest, empathetic" characteristics would not appear to be very large
It's also not to be found here. You're applying character traits to a person just because of their gender.
America imprisons vastly more than any other liberal nation. We have no shortage of people who spent a decade in prison despite not committing the crime and eventually getting out.
Why Holmes over people who didn't deserve prison?