Truman Capote (1924-1984) spent around 5 years in informal foster care, https://www.careexperienceandculture.com/master/truman-capote .

His last novel, In Cold Blood, his “nonfiction novel” as he called it, brought Capote literary acclaim & it became an international bestseller.

In this article, Rachel Hanel talks about teaching In Cold Blood to incarcerated women.

On of the observations the students make is about the “empathetic portrait of [Perry] Smith”, one of the 2 killers, that Capote paints.

Hanel writes:
“According to many people who knew Capote, he saw something of himself in Smith. Both were short. Both endured brutal childhoods featuring parental abandonment. Both were intelligent with a propensity for wordsmithing. Both were gay.”

For the women in Hanel’s classes, what Capote does is “subvert the traditional narrative”. They’re surprised that Capote would portray killers with humanity instead of only focusing on the victims.

https://lithub.com/what-truman-capotes-in-cold-blood-reveals-about-its-authors-intentions/