Carson’s family believes the stress of the criminal case, including 17 months he spent in jail, destroyed his health and contributed to the heart attack that killed him at age 66, a year after his acquittal.

Williams, 43, joked that a similar case during her own career would have put her "in jail", adding: "You would have heard about it in another multiverse."

It doesn’t mean people aren’t still out to kill you, or put you back in jail.

And rather than pursuing civil contempt, Boasberg found cause to hold the defendants in criminal contempt—a punishment that includes large fines and up to six months in jail.

The latest ruling marks Yaxley-Lennon's second court defeat in less than a month, after he lost a closely-related challenge to his segregation in jail in March.