Judge Considers Setting Execution Date for Charles Rhines for 1992 Murder of Donnivan Schaeffer

[PastTense]

"A South Dakota judge will hear arguments Tuesday on whether to set an execution date for a man convicted of stabbing a former co-worker to death 27 years ago during a burglary at a doughnut shop.

The South Dakota Attorney General's Office argued in a recent court filing that Charles Rhines "has eluded justice for 27 years" and it's time for his execution to be carried out in early November. Judge Robert Mandel will hear arguments Tuesday morning from prosecutors and Rhines' attorney before deciding.

The Rapid City Journal reports Rhines was convicted of premeditated first-degree murder in 1993 for the death of 22-year-old Donnivan Schaeffer, who was stabbed in the stomach, back and skull."
South Dakota judge weighs execution for 27-year-old homicide

 

[YESorNO]

Charles Rhines scheduled to be executed in November

Jun 25, 2019

 

[YESorNO]

Gay Man Sentenced to Death, Allegedly Because Jurors Thought He'd Enjoy Prison

JUNE 12 2018

"When South Dakota jurors were sentencing Charles Rhines, convicted of murder during a robbery, some reportedly thought life in prison would be enjoyable for him because he’s gay. Today, Rhines sits on death row, and this Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to hear his argument that homophobia sent him there.

Rhines was convicted in 1993 of the previous year’s murder of Donnivan Schaeffer, a courier who walked into a Rapid City doughnut shop that Rhines was in the process of robbing, reports the Argus Leader, a South Dakota newspaper.. Rhines has avoided execution through a series of appeals, and he is now South Dakota’s longest-surviving death row inmate.

Rhines does not deny that he committed the murder, and he admits to being a sociopath. Schaeffer came into the office of Dig ’Em Donuts, where Rhines, a former employee of the shop, was going through a desk looking for money, according to the Argus Leader. Rhines stabbed him several times with a hunting knife; after Rhines had inflicted the first couple of wounds, Schaeffer begged to be taken to a hospital, but Rhines responded with sarcasm and then stabbed him in the neck and skull.

A jury quickly convicted Rhines, who had a criminal record. But when deciding whether to sentence him to death or to life in prison, jurors raised questions about his homosexuality, something Rhines’s lawyers discovered years later, reports The Marshall Project, a website focusing on criminal justice.

“There was lots of discussion of homosexuality,” one juror recalled in a court affidavit, the site reports. “There were lots of folks who were like, ‘Ew, I can’t believe that.’” Another said the jury thought Rhines “shouldn’t be able to spend his life with men in prison.” According to a third, a fellow juror said that sentencing Rhines to life in prison would amount to “sending him where he wants to go.”..."

Gay Man Sentenced to Death, Allegedly Because Jurors Thought He'd Enjoy Prison

 

[YESorNO]

(Peggy and Ed Schaeffer hold a picture of their son, Donnivan, in Rapid City on Monday, March 5, 2012. Donnivan Schaeffer was murdered 20 years ago on March 8, 2012. The man who murdered their son, Charles Russell Rhines, has been on deathrow since 1993. [Aaron Rosenblatt/Journal staff])

 

[jaejae]

Here is a report about the execution of this convicted offender:

Convicted killer Charles Rhines executed in South Dakota for stabbing co-worker in 1992

Another report about this case:

From the archives: Rhines' 1992 murder still ripples through lives touched by the case

 

[jaejae]

Here is another report about this case:

Doughnut shop killer Charles Rhines' execution set

 

[JerseyGirl]

Gay man executed after Supreme Court dismisses anti-gay bias concerns

 

[0101ABA]

I have followed this case for years and have no doubt in my mind he was a killer. What rubs me the wrong way is the news headlines & his supposed “defense.” I’m sorry but he’s just a run of the mill evil killer...gay, straight, transgender. Whatever, it makes no difference because a killer is a killer. Trying to use his sexuality as an excuse is an insult to the LGBTQ community.

 

[jaejae]

Another report about the execution:

Moments before execution, doughnut shop killer says he forgives victim’s parents – East Bay Times