Charles Rhines was executed for the murder of a Sioux Falls, South Dakota donut shop employee in 1992. He is the most recent person executed by the Mount Rushmore State and his case was controversial as he believed the jury deliberately had it out for him for being a homosexual man. Rhines was born in McLaughlin on July 11, 1956, one of four children of Richard and Ruth Rhines, and did not finish high school. At age 17 he enlisted in the Army, earned his GED, and was discharged in 1976. Rhines then enrolled at the University of South Dakota in Springfield but was caught stealing from another student's dorm room and charged with third degree burglary and sentenced to three years in prison. Paroled in 1979, Rhines promptly robbed a liquor store at gunpoint and was sentenced to ten years for armed robbery. He served seven and was paroled in 1987.

It is unclear what Rhines was doing during the next four years but in the summer of 1991 he began working at Dig 'Em Donuts in Rapid City as a night baker and the owner of the shop did not know about his criminal history. Rhines did not get along with co-workers and after eight months there was fired for poor job performance. In need of money, he decided to burglarize the donut shop.