Wanted partly to atone for a bad deed (6)
I believe the answer is:
needed
'wanted' is the definition.
('need' can be a synonym of 'want')
'partly to atone for a bad deed' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
an anagram of 'deed' is 'eded' which is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ne' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for needed that I've seen before include "Required something essential" , "Obligatory" , "Essential; called for" , "Required; sounds like worked (dough)" , "Was in want of" .)