Wanrow was an active speaker for the women's movement, which raised funds on her behalf. The American Indian Movement helped Wanrow, too, and took advantage of the opportunity to highlight unequal treatment of Native Americans by the criminal justice system. Ellen Earth, a spokesperson of the Yvonne Wanrow Defense Committee, is quoted as saying that the committee wanted to "make the trial last as long as possible" in order to reeducate "the jury about Indians". Wanrow stated, "The trial would not have taken place had I been an affluent white woman who killed an American Indian. Instead, after one week, I was convicted by an all-white jury on May 13, 1973 (Mother's Day) for killing a known child molester. I had heard about Wesler's background as a sex offender the night before the shooting, but was not allowed to bring up the information at trial. The police tape played a role in bringing about the conviction — the jury was allowed to hear it two times."