Yvonne Swan Wanrow is an activist advocating for the rights of Native Americans and women. She is a member of the Colville Tribes of eastern Washington. On August 11, 1972, Wanrow shot and killed a convicted sex offender when he attempted to assault her young son. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to twenty years in prison, but appealed the verdict.

Wanrow’s conviction was reversed in 1975, on the grounds that the police had illegally used a recording of Wanrow’s 911 call as evidence against her. In response, the State of Washington appealed this reversal to the state Supreme Court. In the State Supreme Court, Wanrow’s all-woman legal team argued the recording issue but also attacked the discriminatory instructions given to the jury in Wanrow’s trial. They contended that the jury should have been directed to consider the situation from Wanrow’s own perspective.

The State Supreme Court sided with Wanrow and issued a ruling stating that the jury should have considered “perceptions of the situation, including those perceptions which were the product of our nation’s long and unfortunate history of sex discrimination.” This ruling became a landmark in cases of women defending themselves or their families from male attackers.

Wanrow’s conviction was overturned, and a new trial scheduled. In 1978, Wanrow plead guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to five years of probation. During and after her case, Wanrow became involved in activism for Native and women’s rights.

This mailer describes Wanrow's long legal struggle and describes its racist and sexist context. It also includes a poem written by Wanrow and calls for financial support, outreach work, and pressure on the state prosecutor to support Wanrow.

Caption information source: “State of Washington v. Wanrow” https://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/state-washington-v-wanrow