BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Less than a week after a Warren County jury found him guilty of tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit murder, Steven Lawson is claiming he didn't get a fair trial and should be granted a new one. 

The jury found him guilty May 30 in connection to the July 2015 disappearance of Crystal Rogers after a four-day trial. They recommended a sentence of 17 years. It took less than three hours to reach a verdict. 

A motion filed June 4 by his attorneys, Darren Wolff and Zach Buckler, says the jury did not receive adequate instructions that reflect Kentucky law related to the charge of conspiracy to commit murder. They argue this led to confusion by the jurors.

It adds some attendees in the courtroom violated a court order prohibiting clothing expressing a message related to the case, as some were wearing the color pink. The order says this is emblematic of the "Team Crystal" movement.

The motion goes on to say Lawson did not receive adequate time to prepare for the trial, and one witness, Elizabeth Chesser, offered "some of the most inflammatory testimony" against Lawson. It says Lawson told her that he left his prior spouse because she knew "he committed murder."

When she took the stand after the court recessed, Chesser was asked if she had discussed the case with any of the witnesses and testified she talked to Sherry Ballard, Crystal Rogers' mother. Chesser said Ballard thanked her, and Chesser "prayed it would bring Ms. Ballard peace," according to the motion. Lawson's attorneys say Chesser's discussions and her consequent testimony was "prejudicial" to him.

(Crystal Rogers' Family)

The motion also says the trial's schedule was "problematic."

"The jury deliberated for approximately three (3) hours," the motion reads. "This length of time led to a jury who was obviously ready to go home and failed to deliberate the nuances of this case. There is no conceivable way this jury reviewed the evidence, considered the instructions and thoughtfully deliberated this manner in the time it took them to reach a verdict."

Lawson's tentative sentencing is Aug. 6 at 3 p.m. in Nelson Circuit Court in Bardstown. He was first charged in Dec. 2023. 

The two other suspects in the case are Lawson's son, Joseph Lawson and Brooks Houck, who was Rogers' boyfriend at the time of her disappearance. Joseph is charged with conspiracy to murder and tampering with physical evidence; Houck is charged with Rogers’ murder. They will be tried together beginning June 24.