One prisoner in charge - exemplary (6)
I believe the answer is:
iconic
'exemplary' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'one prisoner in charge' is the wordplay.
'one' becomes 'I' (Roman numeral).
'prisoner' becomes 'con' (abbreviation for 'convict').
'in charge' becomes 'ic' (abbreviation for 'in charge').
'i'+'con'+'ic'='ICONIC'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for iconic that I've seen before include "Serving as a significant symbol" , "Culturally representative" , "Representatively symbolic" , "Widely-recognised" , "of images" .)