http://www.timesdaily.com/news/stories/5368newsstories.html
May 25, 2001
Jury: Dial not guilty of murder
By Bernie Delinski
Staff writer
May 24, 2001

FLORENCE – A Lauderdale County jury took only 25 minutes to
deliberate Wednesday before declaring Bobby Earl Dial not guilty of
murder in the death of his father-in-law.
Dial, 25, closed his eyes and threw his head backward in relief, then
hugged his wife, Nena Dial, who was standing beside him when Lauderdale
County Circuit Judge Mike Jones read the verdict.

“I’m glad the jury saw the truth,” Bobby Dial said later. “I had nothing
to hide from the start.”
Dial was indicted by a Lauderdale County grand jury on a murder charge
in the July 1 shooting of his father-in-law, Dennis Hill.

Nena Dial is the daughter of Dennis and Margaret Hill. Bobby Dial’s
attorney, Randall Gladden of Huntsville, claimed Dial was saving his own
life and the life of Margaret Hill by shooting Dennis Hill.

Dial admitted that he shot and killed Hill, but he said it was done in
self-defense. That was emphasized by Gladden throughout the trial. “I
appreciate the hard work the jury did,” Gladden said after the verdict
was announced. “I appreciate the truth coming out by the verdict.

“It’s easy to try a case when you’ve got an innocent client. The
question now is which room in the courthouse does Bobby go to get his
reputation back?”

Bobby Dial and Margaret Hill testified Tuesday that Dennis Hill burst
into Dial’s house the night of July 1, forced Margaret Hill outside and
began dragging her by her hair toward his truck. Margaret Hill had been
staying at the Dials’ residence for six days when the shooting happened.
She said she had planned to divorce Dennis Hill.

Bobby Dial went inside the house to get a gun, came back outside and
begged Dennis Hill to stop, according to testimony from Dial and
Margaret Hill.

Dennis Hill said he was going to kill Margaret Hill, according to the
testimony. He told Bobby Dial he would kill him, also, and started
toward him.

That is when Dial fired the single shot that struck Dennis Hill in the
chest and killed him, according to testimony and a statement Dial and
Margaret Hill made to investigators at the scene.

Sheriff’s department investigators never arrested Dial. He was tried
after the September grand jury indicted him.

An air of tension could be felt in the courtroom this week, so much so
that Jones had Dial’s family remain in the courtroom while Hill’s family
left Tuesday and after the verdict was read Wednesday.

Hill’s family left peacefully and silently after the verdict was
announced. They had no comment outside the courtroom.

Inside, Dial’s family members were hugging and crying.

“It went the way it was supposed to have gone,” said Bobby Dial’s aunt,
Ruth Butler. “It’s the only way it could have gone. I’m proud to be his
aunt.”

“I hope both families can put this behind them and live with the
verdict,” said Bobby Dial’s brother, Thomas Dial.

Bobby Dial said the months since the shooting have been excruciating.
“It has really just been a nightmare,” Bobby Dial said. “This was my
wife’s daddy and my friend. This has divided the families, but we still
have a lot of feelings for them.

“It was a terrible thing that happened. I’m relieved it’s over.”

Lauderdale County Chief Assistant District Attorney Doug Evans said he
sympathizes with Hill’s family. “I know they’re disappointed,” Evans
said.

He said the defense of self-defense “was just a little too strong in his
case, and that’s what the jury believed.”

During closing arguments, Evans told jurors that Bobby Dial was not
facing deadly force.

“The first thing I ask is you look at the law. This isn’t a case of
self-defense,” Evans said.
Jurors were to choose between verdicts of guilty of murder, guilty of
the lesser-included offense of manslaughter or not guilty.

During Gladden’s closing argument, he told jurors he didn’t want them to
decide between murder or manslaughter.

“I may regret saying this,” Gladden said, as he moved behind Bobby Dial
and rested his hands on the defendant’s shoulders, “but this young man
is guilty or not guilty (because of) self-defense. Go back there and
decide. Don’t go back there and compromise yourself.”

Bernie Delinski can be reached at [email protected] or
740-5739.
Copyright ? 2001 TimesDaily

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