562
Opinion of the Court
body at that time." 18 Record 2378. He then presented his most recent, and perhaps most fantastic, account of the events of the night of the murder. Thompson testified that, after having consensual sex with Fleischli, he fell asleep and remained asleep while, not more than six feet away, someone else stabbed Fleischli five times in the head, wrapped her head and body with duct tape, two towels, a sheet, her jacket, a sleeping bag, and a rope, moved her body from the apartment, and scrubbed the carpet to remove her blood. The District Court found Thompson's testimony "was riddled with inconsistencies and outright falsehoods." App. 51. The District Court further stated: "Thompson's testimony no doubt affected the jury's verdict." Id., at 51. The point is beyond dispute; since Thompson lied about almost every other material aspect of the case, the jury had good reason to believe he lied about whether the sex was consensual.
Thompson presents little evidence to undermine the evidence presented at trial. The en banc court based its decision only on the claims and evidence presented in Thompson's first petition for federal habeas relief. Had it considered the additional evidence or claims presented in Thompson's motion to recall the mandate, of course, its decision would have been subject to § 2244(b). See supra, at 554. Hence the record of Thompson's first federal habeas petition will govern whether he has demonstrated actual innocence of rape.
The evidence in Thompson's petition falls into two categories. First, Thompson presented additional evidence to impeach the credibility of Fink and Del Frate, the jailhouse informants who testified Thompson confessed the rape and murder to them. In the case of Fink, Thompson presented additional evidence of Fink's history as an informant and of law enforcement favors for Fink. Thompson also presented statements by law enforcement officials to the effect that Fink was an unreliable witness. In the case of Del Frate, Thompson presented evidence that law enforcement officials
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