diff --git a/libcontainer/specconv/example.go b/libcontainer/specconv/example.go
index 8dd37215..0b1cd3b6 100644
--- a/libcontainer/specconv/example.go
+++ b/libcontainer/specconv/example.go
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runtime-spec/specs-go"
 )
 
-func sPtr(s string) *string { return &s }
-
 // Example returns an example spec file, with many options set so a user can
 // see what a standard spec file looks like.
 func Example() *specs.Spec {
diff --git a/spec.go b/spec.go
index 6c687e96..26e9754e 100644
--- a/spec.go
+++ b/spec.go
@@ -114,8 +114,6 @@ generate a proper rootless spec file.`,
 	},
 }
 
-func sPtr(s string) *string { return &s }
-
 // loadSpec loads the specification from the provided path.
 func loadSpec(cPath string) (spec *specs.Spec, err error) {
 	cf, err := os.Open(cPath)