He also received the highest performance rating a federal prosecutor can receive - two years in a row.

The judges and prosecutors received anonymous letters threatening them with death.

A spokesman for the state attorney general's office said on Tuesday that prosecutors had received but not yet read the judge's decision.

Officials would not say if the prosecutors had received the final approval from the Justice Department needed to pursue the death penalty.

This meant prosecutors were receiving more cases and police officers were having to wait longer to be interviewed by them, he said.

Nonetheless, his remarks formed perhaps the sharpest challenge that the prosecutor had received from the bench.

It is 3 days after a senior prosecutor receives the recommendation, not 30 days.

But last winter, prosecutors received an informant's letter saying that neither man was involved in the retired sergeant's death; the confession may have been false.

It was also not known why the prosecutors only received the letter in the midst of the defendant's sentencing hearing.

The judge scheduled a hearing so that he, the defendants and their defense team, and prosecutors could receive further clarification on the matter.