The challenge for the prosecution was made clear on Wednesday, when an effective cross-examination of a government witness highlighted how the officer, Gilberto Valle, had said in one of his bizarre online chat discussions that his killing and eating of women was all "in my imagination".
In part, Comey explained, the recommendation against prosecution was made because an indictment would have taken investigators into uncharted legal waters.
"They thought the prosecution was making common cause with the tabloids.
Philip Hackett, QC, one of the defence lawyers, asked if the prosecution was "making this up as they go along".
The referrals for possible prosecution were made late last month to attorneys general in 46 states by the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Assisted suicide remains a criminal offence in England and Wales, punishable by up to 14 years in prison, but individual decisions on prosecution are made depending on the circumstances in each case.
Calling on the Security Council to impose a global prohibition on arms sales, he added: "The facade of her prosecution is made more monstrous because its real objective is to sever her bond with the people for whom she is a beacon of hope and resistance".
The announcement, by Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, was made after 392 current and former legislators were ordered Thursday to repay the equivalent of $1.7 million, a small amount by the standards of, say, bankers' bonuses, but enough to add to the continuing embarrassment for Parliament.
Another from the University of Glasgow suggests that the prosecution is making methodical progress and that April is a likely target.
Mr. Altman and the prosecution were making their final presentations to a jury before it considers the charges against Mr. Ravi, which include invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, and trying to cover up his actions by tampering with evidence and a witness.
Indeed, based on legal filings reported by the Baltimore Sun, the prosecution is making the novel case that Nero's conduct was "objectively, criminally unreasonable"—that the initial cuffing was a crime.
