The punishment doesn't matter, the fact that it might be determined, not by the crime but the accused's sexuality is the issue.

Of course, you know that already.

Any pity I have is saved for the victim and their family

Exactly
That's who I feel sorry for

i'm not saying that you have to have pity for the murderer? But the reason WHY he was given the death penalty is discriminatory

this basically says that gay killers are worse than straight killers solely because of their sexuality

And that has nothing to do with the issue at hand.

ugh i honestly don’t get what part of “we’re annoyed that he has been given the death penalty on the basis he is gay” PEOPLE AREN’T UNDERSTANDING! :fist::fist::fist:

It has to me

It really doesn't. No one is saying this man is not guilty or not deserving of a conviction, the issue is whether his conviction was decided because of the crime or because of his sexuality. If it's the latter, it sets a precedent that could allow for gay people to get sentenced based purely on their sexuality and not their crime.

Again, I'm gonna ask you to answer this question.

No one knows for sure why he got the death penalty ,one thing we do know hes a murderer despite his sexuality

But based on what's been said in that article. Do you think it's right to sentence people differently based, not on their crimes, but their sexuality?

Take murder our of the equation if you're struggling to see past that. Do you think it's right to give a gay person a different sentence based purely on their sexuality?

Of course on their crimes, but I have no sympathy for him at all regardless of his sexuality

And that's the point of this thread. Regardless of the crime, there is evidence to suggest that someone has been sentenced based not on their crime but their sexuality. That is the issue here.

The innocent victim of cowardly 'Gay' monster Charles Rhines was just a 22 years old 'ordinary' kid who just happened to be at his rightful place of work when Rhines decided to rob the place.

As with some on here, most of the internet sites with an agenda to push refrain from mentioning anything but the skimpiest details of the crime other than; 'Rhines stabbed him to death during a robbery', and on here some go as far as to maintain that the "crime is irrelevant' when compared with the 'fact' that a man might have received the Death Sentence' based upon the fact that he is Gay - which is NOT the case at all but 'hey ho' this is TIBB so more of that later.

First, let's have the TRUTH about this 'stabbing during a robbery' and an insight into what type of human this Charles Rhines is - apart from the all-important characteristic of being 'Gay' of course.

22 year old shop worker Donnivan Shaeffer was terrified and compliant when he inadvertently disturbed Rhines during his robbery but:

“Rhines locked Donnivan’s head between his knees and pounded a hunting knife into the base of Donnivan’s skull, partially severing his brain stem,” the brief says. “Unaffected by the screams and blood and death, Rhines left the store with his loot to get something to eat ... an order of french fries.” Then there was his “bloodcurdling confession, in which he cackles while comparing young Donnivan’s death spasms to a beheaded chicken running around a barnyard.”

Callous, evil, boastful, and totally unrepentant then, but perhaps 10 years of incarceration changed Rhines? Made him more remorseful?

In 2002, Joel Schwader was working as a Rapid City newspaper columnist hit on the idea of writing to death row inmates to see what life was really like on death row. Is it as bad as people thought, or did they lead a nice, cozy life?” Schwader said. He wrote to all five men waiting to be executed.

Charles Rhines, who was sentenced for Murder in 1993, was the first to respond. He said, all things considered, his life wasn’t that bad. He even had a sense of humor. “Personally speaking, I think I’d likely have gotten another murder conviction had I been forced to spend the last nine years in a cell with Donald Moeller or Ron Anderson. They’re both okay individuals to speak with, but I don’t think I could handle spending 23 1/4 hours per day in a cell with them without resorting to violence,” Schwader read from Rhines’ letter.

Rhines’ continues; “As for letting the people of South Dakota know what life on Death Row is really like, well, perhaps we’d be better off not telling anyone. It’s not as if they chain us to a wall and feed us with sling shots,” Schwader read from Rhines’ letter.

“While I’m getting rather long-winded, supper is nearing. It might even be edible tonight. It’s never fancy, but usually okay.

Sincerely yours,

Charles R. Rhines.”

But, of course NONE of the above is 'relevant' to some on this site - not the horrific manner in which he slaughtered his cowered innocent victim while he screamed for mercy, nor the evil manner in which he grinned and cackled whilst boasting to detectives that poor young Donnivan Shaeffer's death spasms resembled "a beheaded chicken running around a barnyard” nor even the totally incredulous and callous manner in which he "left the store with his loot to get something to eat ... an order of french fries.”

No - NONE of the above swayed that jury to seek the Death Penalty, only the fact that Rhines was Gay and might 'enjoy life imprisonment in a men's prison'.

What a load of TOSH.

As recently as he 6th of June 2018 - some 25 years after the trial - , the hugely respected and independent 'Marshall Project' news organistion asked; 'What really happened in the jury room?' and to help secure answers, Maurice Chammah visited three of the original jurors.

Hammah writes:

"I reached out to three jurors — one quoted by the defense, one quoted by the prosecution, and one quoted by both sides — and the picture grew even muddier.

Former juror Frances Cersosimo said last week that she vividly remembers a juror saying that Rhines might not mind life in prison because he was gay. “There was a murmuring, everyone said ‘Whaaat?” Cersosimo recalled.

Immediately, this man admitted “it was a stupid thing to say...I don’t know why I said that.” The South Dakota state investigator characterized this as a “joke,” though Cersosimo insisted, “It was not a joke.” (The juror she recalled being the one who said this declined to comment.)

In another affidavit collected by the defense, juror Harry Keeney admits the knowledge of Rhines’s homosexuality affected his decision. His signature appears shaky and the state says this is because he has dementia. His wife Janet Keeney confirmed to The Marshall Project this is true. “I think he didn’t say that,” she said of the comment in question. “I wouldn’t depend upon it.” “We’d just come back from a vacation,” she added. “We were tired...The average person can’t remember what happened 25 years ago.”

Hammah continues:

"The jurors I reached all said that they sentenced Rhines to death primarily because of the nature of the murder."

“The pictures of the kid, he way he bragged about the kid begging for his life. Those things never leave your head,” said juror Delight McGriff, who has no memory of any comments about homosexuality, though she admitted “this was a long time ago.”

In addition, despite the hysterical reaching of some to the contrary, NO ONE stated that Rhines would enjoy life imprisonment with men because he was a homosexual apart from one juror who claimed it was a joke and who immediately regretted his 'stupid' comment.

To me, it DOES seem more like a bad joke than a serious comment, but the point is that the majority of jurors took exception to the homophobic comment - joke or not - and did NOT 'row in' with this juror's homophobia.

Even Hammah states that the jurors he reached out to ALL concluded that they had passed the Death Sentence NOT because of any other consideration but the horrific nature of the crime and the killer's evil boasting and complete lack of humanity.

So NO death Sentence passed because the depraved coward killer was 'Gay' then only compelling evidence that the sole homophobic comment made repulsed the rest of thejurors and did not play any part in the majority decision.

For the record, before the jurors decided Charles Rhines fate having just found him guilty of fatally stabbing 22-year-old Donnivan Schaeffer, they sent a handwritten note to the judge with QUESTIONS which they needed answering for clarification:

If they didn’t vote for the death penalty, what would his life in prison look like? Would he be “allowed to mix with the general inmate population”? Would he be able “to create a group of followers or admirers”? Would he have a cellmate?

The judge said that he was unable to answer and the jury then determined the Death Penalty.

The RIGHT decision in my opinion,but one reached according to NOTHING but the horrific nature of the crime and the even more horrific nature of the killer.

Anything else is tiresome hysterical 'reaching' and hyperbole - also in my opinion.

Well researched Kirk. A bit of sanity on the subject at last!

That’s what you want to think as it means you can get up there on your soapbox! The usual hysterical garbage when there is any mention of perceived discrimination of minorities. :bored:

Yet if the story was "Heterosexual given severe sentence by gay judge for being straight" you'd be first in the queue to slag them off.

So predictable.

:clap1:
I read it all
It just confirms what an evil person this killer is , no remorse and even gloating about what he did :shocked: utter sicko ! .

It's funny how nobody mentioned any of this full detailed information :suspect: , instead it's all about his sexuality . What about the victim and his family and the horrible crime itself .

As I suspected things were misconstrued and taken out of context as per usual :bored: .

Because the debate isn't about whether he was guilty of his crime, nor whether he should be punished.

But whether the punishment should be chosen based on his sexuality, not his crime.

But, yes, twist to fit your own agenda.

And those doubting the story were supposed to be the uncaring and discriminating ones. What a joke! As you say those getting all hysterical about discrimination showed no compassion for that poor victim and his family - just the animal who so brutally murdered him because he is gay - they just wanted to obsess about so-called discrimination and point-score. Sickening. I hope the cold-blooded, twisted murderer rots in hell and every part of his gay body suffers - not because he is gay but because he is an evil bast**d! Some people need to get their priorities right!

I think the ones with agendas stood out a mile and it wasn’t the doubters. The usual hysterics on such subjects.

Of course it did.

:rolleyes:

"The jurors I reached all said that they sentenced Rhines to death primarily because of the nature of the murder."


can we now have your reaction?

Saying all that, wouldnt a gay person get a lighter sentence?

Say if he was straight abd comitted a theft he would get jail time...but if a gay person did the same crime they would be spared jail because they might enjoy it:shrug:

Wouldn't that be a case of positive discrimination yet again. Only in this mad PC world!

Brilliant piece Kirk ,but blasts " he was only given death penalty because he is gay " right out of the window !!:joker: