Crystal Rogers case: Prosecutors say guilty verdict should stand
Prosecutors say a guilty verdict should be upheld for a man charged with conspiracy to murder in the disappearance of Bardstown mother Crystal Rogers, according to court documents filed Monday.
The response comes after lawyers for Steven Lawson, one of three men charged in Rogers’ disappearance and presumed death, asked a judge for a new trial or to acquit him of the charges altogether in June.
Rogers went missing in July 2015, and her body was never found.
Lawson, 54, of Chaplin, was found guilty June 3 of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence.
He was the first of three people convicted in Rogers’ disappearance. His son, Joseph Lawson, 34, was convicted last month of conspiracy to commit murder and evidence tampering in a joint trial with Rogers’ boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, 43-year-old Brooks Houck.
Houck was convicted of murder — principal or accomplice, and evidence tampering.
Joseph Lawson has also asked for an acquittal or a new trial.
Before Steven Lawson’s trial, his lawyer, Darren Wolff, asked for a delay because he was not properly prepared to defend his client due to a lack of time and resources.
After the jury’s guilty verdict, Lawson’s lawyers argued Judge Charles Simms III should negate the verdict for several reasons, including that they had inadequate time to prepare for trial, witnesses talked during breaks, the jury was given inappropriate instructions, and that Rogers’ family wore pink at the trial to honor Rogers.
But special assistant prosecutor Teresa Young, in an 11-page response filed Monday, said Steven Lawson had shown “no grounds” for either the acquittal or a new trial.
Among the claims Young rebutted was that the family dressed in pink, the signature color of the “Justice for Crystal” movement. The issue was raised during the first day of Steven Lawson’s trial, and Simms counted only four of the 60 people in the courtroom wearing pink.
Lawson is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 21.
