The message of the Bible is that man is incapable of doing anything to get himself out of the pit of sin. Only God can save him by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The entire Old Testament speaks to man's inability to save himself.
The New Testament, the New Covenant, tells us that from before the foundation of the world God has purposed that Christ, God Himself, would become the sacrifice for the sins of the elect, and thus man, dead in sin, can only be resurrected exactly the same way Christ was resurrected, by the hand of God.
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." -- Jer. 13:23
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin." -- Romans 6:1-7
"He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." -- John 1:11-13
Born again by the will of God alone.
The message of the Bible is that man is incapable of doing anything to get himself out of the pit of sin. Only God can save him by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
A prisoner cannot leave his cell in pursuit of the Governor's pardon, but they can be approached by a free person (led by the Holy Spirit) with news of their pardon. Their pardon came by way of a paid ransom.
A convicted prisoner on death row has zero chance of saving himself, and has no chance of redeeming himself with good works in jail. That is our condition apart from Jesus Christ.
As Christians, we are commanded to relate the Gospel to those people who are locked behind the bars in hopes they will not blaspheme the Holy Spirit's testimony of Christ regarding the pardon that God's grace has extended to them.
Logically if we are to share the Gospel with every creature, the Holy Spirit uses that to reach the Satanically imprisoned slaves to sin. If the Lost were dead in the sense that you portray, we would be foolish to share the Gospel. It is clear that they can hear through the prison bars, and that the words we share are seeds for the Holy Spirit to bring fruit in their hearts.
A pardon is an exhibition of grace by the one with the authority to provide it. Clearly a death row inmate has no authority at their disposal (dead in their sins).