Give prisoner commendation (10)
I believe the answer is:
contribute
'give' is the definition.
('contribute' can be a synonym of 'give')
'prisoner commendation' is the wordplay.
'prisoner' becomes 'con' (abbreviation for 'convict').
'commendation' becomes 'tribute' (tribute is a kind of commendation).
'con'+'tribute'='CONTRIBUTE'
(Other definitions for contribute that I've seen before include "Furnish" , "Give (for a common purpose)" , "Be partly responsible for" , "Give money etc for a cause" , "pay" .)