The Commonwealth's response leans on Lawson's own recorded admissions to argue he- not prosecutors- broke the immunity deal.

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The Kentucky Attorney General's Office has filed its response to Steve Lawson's appeal of his conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence convictions- and the Commonwealth isn't holding back.

Lawson, who was convicted last year in the Crystal Rogers case and sentenced to 17 years, is arguing on appeal that prosecutors never should have been allowed to try him in the first place. His central claim: he had a non-prosecution agreement with the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth broke it by prosecuting him anyway.

The AG's office says that argument has it backwards. Their position, laid out over 43 pages: Lawson is the one who broke the deal- repeatedly- by lying to investigators even after promising to be "100% truthful."

The "deal" they're talking about, and what it required

Both sides agree a non-prosecution agreement existed, and both sides agree what it required: complete honesty from Lawson about what he knew of the plot to kill Crystal Rogers. Where they split is over whether Lawson held up his end.

The circuit court didn't think he did. After reviewing more than 15 hours of recorded interviews and grand jury testimony, Nelson County Judge Charles Simms found Lawson had given "wildly inconsistent information about matters that are material to the Commonwealth's investigation and prosecution"- and pointed to five specific examples, including Lawson's shifting accounts of his relationship with Brooks Houck, what he knew about where Joey Lawson was taking Crystal's car, who else was involved in moving that car onto the Bluegrass Parkway, the whereabouts of a skid steer, and the staged midnight phone call to Houck.

Steve Lawson files notice of appeal, looks for conviction to be overturned in Crystal Rogers case
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