The defense argues Lawson has not yet been shown all of the evidence against him yet, and that just recently more evidence was turned over by the federal government that was only recently discovered by prosecutors.

The high court ruled that Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies have been improperly relying on a state statute “as a justification to shield their public records from public scrutiny for nearly 50 years.”

The family of the victim, Trevon Mitchell, was just going to get a fraction of the verdict amount, as the jury put only 3% of the fault on the officer, Ben Sullivan, meaning the city was to pay out around $922,000. 

“Other witnesses have offered evidence indicating that S. Lawson and Houck spend an inordinate amount of time together immediately preceding Rogers’s disappearance.”

The lawsuit, filed in December 2019, claims Sgts. Kevin Burton and Mike Garyantes and Lt. Frank Taylor told supervisors and a prosecutor that evidence was being taken from the Elizabethtown post property rooms and secure lots between July and November of that year for "personal gain" by two troopers.