Don Hill Slides From Mayoral Candidate to Alleged Criminal

"I can't say what the price of his clothing was, but he always struck me as someone more concerned about the quality of life in his neighborhood than whether he was wearing a Versace suit," says Victor Lander, the local judge. "Don Hill's always been cautious, because he recognizes Dallas has a history of eating its young."

Michael Sorrell is also at a loss to explain what happened. Sorrell says that in all his dealings with Hill, the former council member never asked for a thing. Hill never seemed to have much of an ego and often met with Sorrell for breakfast, during which the two would talk about Paul Quinn, politics or just life in general. An attorney himself, Sorrell is not naïve. He knows the charges against Hill are serious and won't dismiss them out of hand as the product of a wild conspiracy. He just wonders if Hill made an uncharacteristic lapse in judgment.

"The Don Hill I know was a man who could have been mayor," Sorrell says, "who cared about the right stuff, who was a passionate advocate for his community, who didn't take anything that didn't belong to him, and that's the Don Hill I'm going to choose to remember."

It doesn't sound like the Hills want any sympathy. They both insist they relish the chance to prove their innocence in front of a jury.

"You ask how we're doing; we're doing fine," she says. "We are faith walkers. We walk by faith, not by sight."