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How a Homophobic Court Landed a Gay Inmate on Death Row
Charles Rhines claims homophobia led a jury to seek the death penalty — but the Supreme Court seems to disagree
In 1974, a lonely 17-year-old boy named Charles Rhines, who lived in a small town in South Dakota, joined the Army. Rhines had grown up closeted in rural America. For many gay men of that era, military service seemed to offer a chance to prove their manhood and give them somewhere to belong. But for Rhines, enlistment proved to be an isolating — and harrowing — experience.
Just months after enlisting, a playful twirl in the barracks appeared to rile up a fellow soldier who accused him of showing off his back side. Days later, according to Rhines, he was struck from behind while showering. He was hit hard; his forehead bounced off the hard tile wall, and he fell to the ground. Through the mental fog appeared his accuser and three other soldiers, who held him down and took turns raping him.
Rhines blamed himself for provoking the attack, his lawyer told me in an interview in November. He never reported it, terrified that doing so would spur more violence and humiliation, expose his sexuality, and might get him booted from the military, where it was illegal to be gay. Instead, he held in the pain. After receiving a…
