Cryptic crossword clue
Guilty lot in prison, courage not entirely returning 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word CULPRITS

I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Guilty lot" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case guilty lot = culprits.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does CULPRITS mean?

CULPRITS noun
  1. The person or thing at fault for a problem or crime.
  2. A prisoner accused but not yet tried.

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