Cite as: 513 U. S. 298 (1995)
Opinion of the Court
davits suggested that Randy Jordan—who occupied the cell between O'Neal and Stewart in Walk 2, and who, as noted above, see n. 4, supra, is shown on the videotape arriving at lunch with O'Neal—was the third assailant.
On August 23, 1993, without holding a hearing, the District Court dismissed Schlup's second habeas petition and vacated the stay of execution that was then in effect. The District Court concluded that Schlup's various filings did not provide adequate cause for failing to raise his new claims more promptly. Moreover, the court concluded that Schlup had failed to meet the Sawyer v. Whitley, 505 U. S. 333 (1992), standard for showing that a refusal to entertain those claims would result in a fundamental miscarriage of justice. In its discussion of the evidence, the court made no separate comment on the significance of Green's statement.19
On September 7, 1993, petitioner filed a motion to set aside the order of dismissal, again calling the court's attention to
I am willing to testify because I know Lloyd Schlup is innocent." Id., at 4.
Similarly, inmate Donnell White swore an affidavit in which he stated: "Three white guys were coming the opposite way. One of them had a tumbler of something that he threw in [Dade's] face. One or two of the other ones started sticking [Dade] with an ice-pick-type knife." Affidavit of Donnell White, at 1 (Apr. 21, 1993). White further stated: "I have seen Lloyd Schlup, and I know who he is. He is definitely not one of the guys I saw jump Arthur Dade . . . . I know that one of the three men involved has never been prosecuted, and I know that Lloyd Schlup is innocent. I barely know Lloyd Schlup, and I have no reason to lie for him. I told the investigators that I didn't see anything because I didn't want to get involved." Id., at 3.
Though the District Court ultimately denied Schlup's motion to supplement the record, the inmate affidavits are part of the record on appeal.
19 The District Court focused primarily on the "suspect" nature of affidavits that are produced after a long delay, cf. Herrera v. Collins, 506 U. S. 390, 423-424 (1993) (O'Connor, J., concurring), and that come from inmates. The court concluded that the affidavits presented by Schlup, when considered against the positive identifications made by Flowers and Maylee, failed to constitute a sufficiently persuasive showing of actual innocence. App. 79.
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