At home with friends, convicts (7)
I believe the answer is:
inmates
'convicts' is the definition.
('inmate' can be a synonym of 'convict')
'at home with friends' is the wordplay.
'at home' becomes 'in' ('I'm in' can mean 'I'm at home').
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'friends' becomes 'mates' (mate is a kind of friend).
'in'+'mates'='INMATES'
(Other definitions for inmates that I've seen before include "Inhabitants" , "Prisoners" , "Ties man (anag.)" .)