‘She called me a name that I didn’t like’

Abstract

In parole hearings, prison inmates are questioned to ascertain whether they can be considered rehabilitated and return to the community or whether they still pose a danger and should remain incarcerated. As such, parole hearings are complex discursive events in which the prisoner must negotiate their identity in conversation with parole officers. The data for this study comprises 17 transcripts of the parole hearings of Winston Moseley, one of the longest-serving inmates in the state of New York. The analysis aims to highlight how Moseley represents his responsibility in the crimes he committed, how he expresses remorse, insight and apologies, and how he portrays his rehabilitated self. The study shows that, even though Moseley’s focus is on the change and development of his personality, the linguistic strategies he uses to talk about his responsibility and how he expresses remorse remain obscure.