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Yvonne Wanrow

AKA: Yvonne Swan
Released
Gender:Female
Race:Native American
Era:1970s
State:Washington
Support
Indigenous Sovereignty
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Biography

Colville Indian mother convicted of second-degree murder in 1974 for shooting William Wesler, a white man who attacked her children. Her appeal led to the landmark Washington Supreme Court ruling on self-defense that gave women the right to be judged from their own perspective (State v. Wanrow, 1977). Documented in PFOC Breakthrough magazine.

Case

Spokane County Jail
Charges: Second-degree murder, first-degree assault
Arrested: Aug 12, 1972
Sentence: 20 years (overturned 1977) Verdict as recorded: Yes — 1974 (later overturned)
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: Washington