aug 6, 1975 - Conviction reversed

Description:

Defense attorney Eugene I. Annis appealed the ruling on eleven counts of judicial error. On August 6, 1975, the appeals court reversed the conviction and ordered a retrial. They found that:

the jury was not sequestered and an article of Wanrow's earlier guilty plea appeared in the evening paper. When Wanrow's defense moved for a retrial, it was denied after the jury was questioned as a group whether they saw the newspaper and they said no,

the recorded confession was used as evidence in violation of the law,

the judge's use of masculine pronouns while reading the law and instructing jurors predisposed them to an interpretation of the law that did not account for the necessity of weaponry in inter-gender conflicts, especially considering the fact that Wanrow was handicapped by a broken leg, a cast, and crutches at the time,

the presiding judge had not allowed expert testimony that would have provided necessary cultural background on the Colville Indian culture, and,

the judge did not read jurors a recently enacted law that dictated that they not interpret self-defense murder cases on the basis of whether the defender was actually in danger of his or her life, but only whether they believed themselves to be in danger.

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