SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A 63-year-old South Dakota man is scheduled to be put to death for the slaying of a 22-year-old deliveryman who stumbled upon a burglary in 1992.
Charles Rhines is scheduled to die Monday by lethal injection for Donnivan Schaeffer’s 1992 death. Rhines had recently been fired from his job at Dig `Em Donuts in Rapid City and was burglarizing the store when Schaeffer walked in.
The crime left a mother in grief and gave the lead investigator nightmares. It has also raised complex court issues, with Rhines arguing at one point that he was sentenced to death because he is gay. The state said he was sentenced to die because of his “chilling laughter” as he confessed.
The execution is scheduled for Monday.
