Tabacco Mar writes: "On Monday, the Supreme Court announced it would not stop South Dakota from killing a man who may have been sentenced to death because he is gay."
An execution chamber. (photo: Sue Ogrocki/AP)
A Jury May Have Sentenced a Man to Death Because He's Gay. And the Justices Don't Care
23 June 18
n Monday, the Supreme Court announced it would not stop South Dakota from killing a man who may have been sentenced to death because he is gay.
Some of the jurors who imposed the death penalty on Charles Rhines, who was convicted of murder, have said they thought the alternative — a life sentence served in a men’s prison — was something he would enjoy as a gay man.
During deliberations, the jury had often discussed the fact that Mr. Rhines was gay and there was “a lot of disgust” about it, one juror recalled in an interview, according to the court petition. Another said that jurors knew he was gay and “thought that he shouldn’t be able to spend his life with men in prison.” A third recounted hearing that if the jury did not sentence Mr. Rhines to death, “if he’s gay, we’d be sending him where he wants to go.”
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