Nany Evans oral history.indd - Washington Secretary of State

school principal, to observe it. And the kids debated the death penalty. This was fifth and
sixth graders.
Hughes: Well, your husband and Bob Utter and, to a slightly lesser extent, Jim Dolliver and
Charles Z. Smith were among the most articulate and outspoken opponents of the death
penalty.
Evans: Dan felt very strongly about it because I can remember discussing that with him.
Periodically these cases would come to the governor’s desk. “Would he sign a death
warrant?” He couldn’t do it. He just said, “How can I sign this, sending somebody to the
chair.” Do we still do the chair?
Hughes: No, we hang people or give them a lethal injection, but that’s being challenged
right now.
Evans: At any rate, he just could not do that. I agreed with him wholeheartedly on that. It
was very hard for him because it was so personal. He was the person making a life-or-death
decision.
Hughes: Talk about where the buck stops.
Evans: Yes. So that was a big issue in his life.
Hughes: My mother was really passionate about that landmark 1970 campaign for
abortion rights in Washington State. ( Referendum 20) Where did you come down on that?
Evans: Well, I can’t speak for my husband, but I always felt it’s a woman’s right, prerogative,
to make that decision.
Hughes: I appreciate you not speaking for Dan, but did he take a stand on that as well?
Evans: I agree with him when he said, “Nobody likes abortion.” It’s not something we
would ever choose. But it has to be something where the woman makes that decision.
Hughes: Hillary and Bill Clinton said, “It ought to be rare and safe.”
Evans: Yes. Exactly. And people forget what it was like in those days.
Girls, a lot of girls, but women, too, were going to backwater places and
there were a lot of permanent injuries, even deaths. All sorts of thing
were happening. We forget how it was. I was reminded of that era
during the campaign last fall, and particularly around the time of the
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