JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge.
James Dean Walker, convicted of murder arising out of an incident in 1963, again files a petition for habeas corpus. The district court1 denied the writ, hearing evidence on only a portion of Walker’s claims and refusing to hear additional evidence on claims earlier asserted. Walker contends that, under the guidelines established in Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. 1, 83 S.Ct. 1068,10 L.Ed.2d 148 (1963), for successive habeas petitions, the district court erred in denying reconsideration of his claim of bias of the state trial judge. We affirm the orders of the district court denying the writ of habeas corpus.
On the night of April 15, 1963, defendant Walker and a companion, Russell Freeman Kumpe, were in the company of Mary Louise Roberts and Linda Ford at the South Main Business Men’s Club.. Following an altercation in which another patron was accidentally shot, Walker and Kumpe fled the scene as did the two women. Ford accompanied the two men in their Oldsmobile, while Roberts followed in a cab. Alderman, the cab driver, upon inquiry of Roberts, verified that the men were involved in the shooting at the club. He notified his dispatcher who instructed him to follow the Oldsmobile until the police arrived. Alderman, however, was unable to keep pace with the Oldsmobile as it proceeded into North Little Rock, Arkansas, but another cab driven by Thomas Short took up the pursuit with the Alderman cab continuing to follow.
North Little Rock, Arkansas Police Officers Barentine and Vaughan2 were ordered to give pursuit, which they did in separate cars. Officer Barentine overtook and stopped the Oldsmobile, and parked his car behind it. Officer Vaughan arrived immediately thereafter and parked his car more in the center of the road. The cabs driven by Short and Alderman arrived, parking on the opposite side of the highway. Officer Barentine stepped to the front of his police car and ordered Kumpe to get out of the car and come back to his police car, and then proceeded to search him. Officer Vaughan approached the Oldsmobile on the passenger side of the car. There was an exchange of gunfire, as a result of which Walker was shot five times and Officer Vaughan was shot one time. Linda Ford was seated in the middle of the front seat next to Walker, who was sitting by the right door. Ford later testified that Walker fired the first shot. She heard the gun[1240]*1240shot and could see the Vaughan gun when it fired.
Officer Vaughan was found lying near the front door of the Oldsmobile, and died within a short time before he could make a statement. Walker was also found lying outside the Oldsmobile, holding a fully loaded snub-nosed pistol in his hand. Underneath him or right beside him was a second gun, a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson, which was later identified by ballistics experts as being the gun from which the bullet was fired that caused Officer Vaughan’s death.
In the first trial, Walker was convicted of first degree murder and was sentenced to death. This conviction was reversed by the Supreme Court of Arkansas, and the case remanded for new trial. Walker v. State, 239 Ark. 172, 388 S.W.2d 13 (1965). Upon retrial,3 Walker was again convicted of first degree murder but was sentenced to life imprisonment. This conviction was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Arkansas. Walker v. State, 241 Ark. 300, 408 S.W.2d 905 (1966), cert, denied, 386 U.S. 682, 87 S.Ct. 1325, 18 L.Ed.2d 403 reh’g denied, 387 U.S. 926, 87 S.Ct. 2027, 18 L.Ed.2d 987 (1967).
Walker filed apetition for habeas corpus, and a three-day hearing before the United States District Court resulted in dismissal of his, petition. Walker v. Bishop, 295 F.Supp. 767 (E.D.Ark.1967).4 He then appealed to this court, and a unanimous panel affirmed the judgment of the district court. Walker v. Bishop, 408 F.2d 1378 (8th Cir. 1969).
Walker escaped from the penitentiary in Arkansas in 1975. Litigation concerning his extradition was finally determined by the United States Supreme Court.5
Walker then filed a second petition for writ of habeas corpus together with a civil rights claim based on 42 U.S.C. § 1983.6 On June 2, 1981, the district court entered a written order finding that four of the grounds in plaintiff’s petition were identical to those asserted in the earlier petition for writ of habeas corpus determined in 1967, and should not be relitigated. Walker v. Lockhart, 514 F.Supp. 1347, 1352 (E.D.Ark.1981). These were: (1) that the presiding judge in the murder trial was biased against plaintiff, (2) that there was official misconduct in the state court trial by the North Little Rock Police Department in allegedly withholding exculpatory evidence and witnesses from plaintiff, (3) that prejudicial pretrial publicity made a fair trial impossible, and (4) that the sum total of the claimed defects in the state trial were so serious as to violate his constitutional right to a fair trial. The court ruled that other issues not earlier presented should be further considered. It conducted a hearing on these new issues and denied Walker’s petition.
In the order denying Walker the right to relitigate those grounds previously deter[1241]*1241mined, the district court carefully considered the guidelines for successive applications set down in Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. 1, 83 S.Ct. 1068, 10 L.Ed.2d 148 (1963). The court found that the same grounds presented in the application before it were previously determined adversely to petitioner on the prior application. The prior determination was on the merits, and there was no new evidence and no intervening change in the law which would “serve the ends of justice by reconsidering the merits of the plaintiffs subsequent habeas application.” Walker v. Lockhart, 514 F.Supp. at 1350-51.
This appeal then followed, with arguments heard before a panel of this court. By order dated June 2, 1982, the case was referred to the court en banc for rehearing, and the parties were requested to rebrief the following issues:
1) What factors disclosed by the records in this case indicate that this court should or should' not consider a successive petition for habeas corpus by appellant Walker.
2) Have the constitutional violations alleged (including prejudice of the trial judge and suppression of evidence by police and prosecutors, or either of them, or other violations) grossly flawed or not flawed the guilt determination in this case.
3) If necessary, should this court remand the habeas corpus action to the district court fór a determination on the merits, of can this court properly rule on the merits of the habeas corpus petition in the present appeal.
After argument, the first submission was vacated, and the ease was heard for a second time by the court en banc.
Walker now argues, as he did before the district court, that there has been a change in the law, primarily from the Fifth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Brown, 539 F.2d 467 (5th Cir.1976) (per curiam). He contends that the district court should have considered the claim of bias of the trial judge arising from the tone of voice and courtroom demeanor, which essentially is a factual issue recognized in Brown. He further argues that the appearance of justice consideration articulated in Brown brought about an objective, as opposed to a subjective, review, of claims of trial court bias. He argues this is sufficient to authorize reconsidering the merits of his claim of bias. Walker also argues that the ends of justice would be served by reexamining the bias issue because he is innocent. He points to the weakness of the evidence giving rise to his conviction. He stresses various claims of suppressed evidence and conflicting evidence which admittedly were discussed in the decision of the Arkansas Supreme Court and the two decisions relating to the prior petition for habeas corpus.
I. The Trial Court’s Asserted Bias A. Criteria for Considering Successive Habeas Petitions
Res judicata does not apply to petitions for writ of habeas corpus. See Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90, 98 n. 12, 101 S.Ct. 411, 416 n. 12, 66 L.Ed.2d 308 (1980). The question of what consideration a federal court should give to a successive habeas petition was discussed by the United States Supreme Court in Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. 1, 15-19, 83 S.Ct. 1068, 1077-79, 10 L.Ed.2d 148 (1963).7 In Sanders the Supreme Court ■ established several guidelines for regulating successive applications on grounds previously heard and determined. These guidelines were summarized by the Court as follows:
Controlling weight may be given to denial of a prior application for federal habeas corpus or § 2255 relief only if (1) the same ground presented in the subsequent application was determined adversely to the applicant on the prior application, (2) the prior determination was on the merits, and (3) the ends of justice would not be served by reaching the merits of the subsequent application.
Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. at 15, 83 S.Ct. at 1077 (footnote omitted).
Following the Sanders decision, Congress enacted a new statute dealing [1242]*1242with successive habeas petitions, 28 U.S.C. § 2244 (1976). Section 2244(b) applies to state prisoners.8 Similar provisions are contained in rule 9(b) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts, which became effective February 1, 1977.9 The general effect of rule 9(b) and section 2244(b) is to codify the criteria outlined in Sanders. Although both rule 9(b) and section 2244(b) do not specifically refer to the “ends of justice” test, the parties here apparently agree that the test has been implicitly, incorporated. We assume, without deciding, the correctness of this position.10
B. Is the Claim of Bias the “Same Ground” Raised and Determined in the Prior Habeas Petition?
With respect to the first consideration set forth in Sanders, we must' consider whether Walker’s claim of bias of the trial judge is the same ground as that presented in the earlier application. Walker argues that the tone of voice and demeanor of the trial judge were not considered by either the district court or this court in ruling upon the earlier habeas petition.
Sanders states:
By “ground,” we mean simply a sufficient legal basis for granting the relief sought by the applicant. For example, the contention that an involuntary confession was admitted in evidence against him is a distinct ground for federal collateral relief. But a claim of involuntary confession predicated on alleged psychological coercion does not raise a different “ground” than does one predicated on alleged physical coercion. In other words, identical grounds may often be proved by different factual allegations. So also, identical grounds may often be supported by different legal arguments ... or be couched in different language ... or vary in immaterial respects ____ Should doubts arise in particular cases as to whether two grounds are different or the same, they should be resolved in favor of the applicant.
Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. at 16, 83 S.Ct. at 1077.
So tested, Walker’s claim of bias of the trial judge in his present petition is the same “ground” as raised and determined in the prior application. The district court in the first habeas hearing considered whether the trial judge’s allegedly prejudicial remarks during the course of the trial and in the presence of the jury constituted a denial of due process. Walker v. Bishop, 295 F.Supp. at 773. On appeal this court care[1243]*1243fully reviewed this claim and determined as follows:
The Supreme Court of Arkansas, which we highly respect, concluded that the trial court acted properly and even generously towards Walker in the course of the second trial, and that the judge exhibited no personal bias or prejudice to the jury. That court, among other things, noted that defendant was given seven months to prepare for the second trial, that his motion to be placed in the county jail during that time for the convenience of his counsel was granted as was what the Arkansas court characterized as defendant’s “sweeping motion for production and private examination of all the tangible objects which were to be introduced by the State in evidence.”
Walker v. Bishop, 408 F.2d at 1382.
This court also specifically considered the statements made by the state trial judge some months before trial to a minister and two companions who sought his permission to take Walker to church for baptism. Although granting the request, the trial judge had warned the deputy sheriff to see that Walker was heavily guarded and to shoot him if he attempted to escape. [R. II, 83.] The trial judge also had said that he intended to “burn the S.O.B. anyway.” [R. II, 83.] In considering these statements, this court concluded as follows:
[A]ny such innermost thoughts on the part of the judge constituted no cause for his disqualification. The judge said that he could give defendant a fair trial. The Supreme Court of Arkansas held that there was no showing of bias or prejudice and the defendant was accorded a fair trial. Chief Judge Henley, the United States district judge, made the same finding in the habeas proceeding, and our canvass of the entire record of the second trial in addition to the voluminous habeas record compels the same conclusion on our part.
In asserting that the tone of voice and demeanor of the trial judge were not considered, Walker is simply making a different factual allegation to prove the identical ground of bias or prejudice of the trial judge. Although the decisions of the district court and of this court do not specifically refer to the tone of voice or demean- or of the trial judge, nor does the decision of the Supreme Court of Arkansas, Walker’s counsel at the second trial raised this objection out of the presence of the jury. [R. II, 294-95.] Walker’s counsel apparently did not follow up and further urge the error asserted in this objection. It is clear from the rulings of the Supreme Court of Arkansas, the district court, and this court that the entire record was carefully reviewed and that bias and prejudice were not found. Because the same ground was presented in the prior application and was determined on the merits, the district court properly refused to consider once again the claim of bias or prejudice of the trial judge.
C. Will the “Ends of Justice” Be Served By Redetermining the Same Ground?
The next question under Sanders is whether the “ends of justice” would be served by redetermining Walker’s claim of bias of the state trial judge. Sanders gives instruction as to the considerations to be weighed:
Even if the same ground was rejected on the merits on a prior application, it is open to the applicant to show that the ends of justice would be served by permitting the redetermination of the ground. If factual issues are involved, the applicant is entitled to a new hearing upon showing that the evidentiary hearing on the prior application was not full and fair; we canvassed the criteria of a-full and fair evidentiary hearing recently in Townsend v. Sain, [372 U.S. 293, 83 S.Ct. 745, 9 L.Ed.2d 770 (1963) ], and that discussion need not be repeated here. If purely legal questions are involved, the applicant may be entitled to a new hearing upon showing an intervening change in the law or some other justification for having failed to raise a crucial point or argument in the prior application. Two further points should be noted. First, the foregoing enumeration is not intended to be exhaustive; the test is “the ends of justice” and it cannot be too finely particularized. Second, the burden is on the applicant to show that, although the ground of the new application was determined against him on the merits on a prior application, the ends of justice would be served by a redetermination of the ground.
Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. at 16-17, 83 S.Ct. at 1077-78 (emphasis in original). Walker does not contend that the evidentiary hearing on the first habeas corpus was not full and fair. Rather, Walker contends that the ends of justice test is [1244]*1244satisfied because of an intervening change of law, or alternatively because of an insufficiency of evidence upon which to.rest his conviction. The first strand of Walker's ends of justice argument — an intervening change of law — is a consideration specifically enumerated in Sanders. The second strand of his argument — insufficiency of the evidence — is asserted under the catchall language in Sanders that the ends of justice “cannot be too finely particularized.” We consider each of these contentions in turn.
Intervening Change of Law. Walker argues that the intervening change in the law regarding judicial bias springs primarily from United States v. Brown, 539 F.2d 467 (5th Cir.1976) (per curiam). In the habeas hearing in Brown, a lawyer reported that some time before Brown’s trial, at a state bar association meeting, the trial judge, while sitting around a swimming pool on motel grounds, said that he was going to preside at Brown’s trial and that he was “going to get that nigger.” Id. at 468. A different district judge, in the ha-beas hearing, concluded that the remark had been made and that it cast a serious shadow on the case as far as the appearance of justice was concerned. He reviewed the record,' however, and found that Brown had received a fair trial.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed. The court observed that the record would not reflect the tone of voice of the judge, his facial expressions, or his unspoken attitudes and mannerisms, all of which might have affected the jury and its verdict. The court further observed the language of the United States Supreme Court in In re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133, 136, 75 S.Ct. 623, 625, 99 L.Ed. 942 (1955), that “justice must satisfy the appearance of justice.” From this Walker argues that the appearance of justice standard, which is objective in nature, is a change in the law satisfying the ends of justice consideration in Sanders. Walker’s further argument, that a review of the trial record under such circumstances is not required, is answered by the court’s conclusion in Brown: “The judge’s statement did not comport with the appearance of justice, and it cannot be said from the record alone that appellant received a fair trial.” 539 F.2d at 470. It is apparent that the record was reviewed in Brown.
In our case we have a complete review of the trial record by the Supreme Court of Arkansas and by both the district court and this court in the earlier habeas petition, and affirmative conclusions by these courts that there was no showing of bias or prejudice or that defendant was denied a fair trial. The Brown court could not reach such a conclusion.
We agree with the district court that Brown is “unique to its own set of facts” and that it involves a first rather than a successive application for writ of habeas corpus. Walker v. Lockhart, 514 F.Supp. at 1350-51.
Walker argues that other decisions have adopted the appearance of justice standard as a new rule of law which is constitutionally recognized. The cases cited, Mayberry v. Pennsylvania, 400 U.S. 455, 91 S.Ct. 499, 27 L.Ed.2d 532 (1971), Johnson v. Mississippi, 403 U.S. 212, 91 S.Ct. 1778, 29 L.Ed.2d 423 (1971), Peters v. Kiff 407 U.S. 493, 92 S.Ct. 2163, 33 L.Ed.2d 83 (1972), and Taylor v. Hayes, 418 U.S. 488, 94 S.Ct. 2697, 41 L.Ed.2d 897 (1974), deal with criminal contempt charges or jury selection procedures, and do not establish'an intervening change in the law as Walker argues. The appearance of justice as a consideration in both criminal contempt and other settings goes back at least as far as In re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133, 136, 75 S.Ct. 623, 625, 99 L.Ed. 942 (1955), in which the United States Supreme Court stated:
A fair trial in a fair tribunal is a basic requirement of due process. Fairness of course requires an absence of actual bias in the trial of cases. But our system of law has always endeavored to prevent even the probability of unfairness____ Such a stringent rule may sometimes bar trial by judges who have no actual bias and who would do their very best to weigh the scales of justice equally between contending parties. But to perform its high function in the best way “justice must satisfy the appearance of justice.” Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11, 14, 75 S.Ct. 11, 13, 99 L.Ed. 11.
We do not read the Brown per curiam, or the contempt and jury selection cases on which it relies, as establishing an intervening change in the law as it relates to the claim of bias or prejudice of the trial judge. This court has cited Brown only once in United States v. Dean, 647 F.2d 779, 783 (8th Cir.1981), vacated, 667 F.2d 729 (8th Cir.) (en banc), cert, denied, 456 U.S. 1006, 102 S.Ct. 2296, 73 L.Ed.2d 1300 (1982). The panel decision in Dean reversed because of juror bias, but this court en banc affirmed on a different ground and made [1245]*1245no reference to Brown. Dean cannot be said to recognize Brown as an intervening change of law.11
Sufficiency of the Evidence. Walker alternatively argues that the ends of justice would be served by reexamining the bias issue, based on the weakness, or insufficiency, of the evidence giving rise to his conviction. Walker argues that sufficiency of the evidence falls within the Supreme Court’s broad definition in Sanders that the ends of justice “cannot be too finely particularized.” He launches upon an extensive factual argument, the essence of which is that because of various conflicts in the evidence and various claims of suppressed evidence, there is no factual basis to support the jury’s verdict. Although he does not specifically refer to the sufficiency of the evidence rule as established in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), in his briefs, his counsel stated at oral arguments that he would rely or stand on it.
Sufficiency of the evidence was not raised in the original application for writ of habeas corpus considered by the district court in 1967 12 and by this court in 1969, nor was it raised in the second petition considered by the district court in 1981. Thus, we do not consider sufficiency of the evidence as a distinct ground raised by Walker. Nonetheless, we are persuaded to consider this argument because of the Supreme Court’s broad definition of the “ends of justice” in Sanders and because of appellant’s counsel’s enthusiastic adoption of sufficiency of the evidence as an additional ends of justice consideration. At least two further reasons support this action. Appellant unequivocally states that this court can properly rule on the habeas corpus petition on the record before us, which he says is adequate for this court to determine the questions of law. We also believe that finality of decision in this case further justifies our review of this argument.
In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, we are satisfied that the only standard that we can use is that expressed in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979): “[T]he relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” 13 Id. at 319, 99 S.Ct. at 2789 (emphasis in original); see, e.g., Gipson v. Lockhart, 692 F.2d 66, 68 (8th Cir,1982) (per curiam); Fowler v. Parratt, 682 F.2d 746, 751 (8th Cir.1982); Lenza v. Wyrick, 665 F.2d 804, 812 (8th Cir.1981).
Walker and his counsel are convinced that there is no evidence to establish Walker’s guilt. The brief boldly states, “Certainly, there is nothing which would be called a fact which explains the jury verdict.” Walker’s argument, which is accepted by the dissent, is essentially based on considering all of the conflicting evidence and conclusions drawn most favorable to Walker. His argument totally ignores the following evidence:
First, Linda Ford, the passenger in the middle seat of the Oldsmobile driven by Kumpe, testified that after she was pushed into the car Walker sat to her right with a gun on her. [R. II, 605.] When the car stopped at _ the scene, Ford saw Officer Vaughan approach the passenger side of the car and saw that Walker still had the pistol out. [R. II, 607-08.] When the door opened, Walker started firing. [R. II, 608.] She then heard several shots. [R. II, 608.] She knew that Walker had fired first because she could see the fire from Officer Vaughan's gun when he fired. [R. II, 609.]
Second, Thomas Short, the cab driver who arrived on the scene almost contempo[1246]*1246raneously with Officer Vaughan, saw Vaughan approach the passenger side of the Oldsmobile and bend over looking into the window to talk to someone. [R. II, 518; H. I, 293-94.] After a few seconds, the car door suddenly opened. [R. II, 518.] Officer Vaughan jumped backwards, pulling his gun as he did so. [R. II, 518; H. I, 295.] While Vaughan was dancing backwards, Short heard a shot and saw Vaughan’s feet fly out from under him. [R. II, 518.] Further shots rang out. [R. II, 519.] Altogether, Short heard one shot- and a pause and then four or five more shots fired in succession, “real rapid like.” [H. I, 295.] After the shooting was over, Short walked around and saw one of the police officers kick a gun out of Walker’s hand. [H. I, 298.] When Walker was turned over, Short saw another gun underneath him. [H. I, 299.]
Finally, Captain Paul McDonald, a qualified ballistics expert, testified that the bullet removed from Officer Vaughan’s body matched the four-inch barrel .38 caliber Smith & Wesson, [R. II, 767], which was identified as the weapon found under Walker. Walker v. Bishop, 295 F.Supp. at 771. In making that determination, Captain McDonald examined two other revolvers. [R. II, 737-38.] One was a fully-loaded two-inch barrel .38 caliber Smith & Wesson, which was observed being kicked away from Walker after the shooting. 295 F.Supp. at 771. The other was a four-inch barrel Colt .38, which was found under the front seat of the Oldsmobile. Id. at 772. Because of the differences in class characteristics, it was readily ascertained that the bullet which killed Officer Vaughan did not come from the Colt .38. [R. II, 768.] A microscopic study of samples obtained from the two Smith & Wessons led to a positive identification that the fatal bullet came from the four-inch Smith & Wesson. [R. II, 768-69.] Captain McDonald testified that he had no doubt about the identification. [R. II, 769.]
After viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we conclude that any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. at 2789.
Walker points to a number of inconsistencies. He argues vigorously that “It is absolutely transparent that [he] could not have shot Vaughan after he sustained [five shots to his body]____ [N]o one at any time ... has ever suggested that the riddled and unconscious Walker could have shot Vaughan.” However, “[i]f Walker shot Vaughan, he had to do it before Vaughan shot him, but this means a man (Vaughan) who took a shot at the heart ... was able to ... fire five bullets into his assailant.” In asserting the “inherent improbability” of this theory, Walker relies principally on a statement in the autopsy report that “Death was presumably almost immediate.” [R. II, 734 (Defendant’s Exhibit “B”).] In doing so, however, Walker ignores the testimony of the pathologist who prepared that report. Dr. Davenport, the pathologist, testified that Officer Vaughan’s death was not instantaneous and that “immediate” meant to him “anything from a minute to a few minutes.” [R. II, 759, ] During that length of time, Officer Vaughan could have fired shots. [R. II, 760. ]
Walker also argues that the only gun that he had was in his right hand fully loaded. He argues that when Vaughan first approached the car he held the gun in his hand above his head to show that he was submitting to the law. There is no evidence in the record that Walker ever placed his hands above his head. An offer of proof in this respect was rejected by the district court in the 1981 habeas hearing. [H. II, 311-12.] Walker in the second trial simply denied that he had shot Vaughan or that he had ever fired a shot at the scene of the shooting. [R. II, 854-55.] He did not testify to raising his hands above his head. He also gave no such testimony in the first habeas hearing.
Other issues that Walker raises have been treated extensively in earlier opinions. These issues include: the sawed-off Baren-tine gun;14 the allegation that Barentine gave perjured testimony;15 the alleged suppression of the Alderman testimony;16 [1247]*1247the failure to conduct a paraffin or fingerprint test on the weapon found under Walker; 17 the unavailability of Linda Ford and Mary Roberts to testify at the second trial; 18 the recantation of Mary Roberts’ testimony; 19 and the report of defendant’s absent ballistics expert.20
In reviewing the record available to us, we conclude that the determinations made by the district court at the first habeas hearing, this court on appeal from its decision, and the decision of the Arkansas Supreme Court following the second conviction, were conclusions fully supported not only by the record before those courts but also by the record before us. This makes appropriate the comments of the district judge in the first habeas hearing that conflicts in the testimony were to be resolved by the jury:
This case involved the death of a police officer in line of duty; witnesses in the case included fellow officers of the deceased; two prostitutes and one cab driver. The fatal events occupied only a few seconds at most and took place during hours of darkness; all of the survivors were obviously frightened and excited. In such a situation serious credibility problems inevitably arise____
The two juries which tried Walker were certainly aware that they were faced with problems of credibility. Both juries were satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt from all of the evidence that petitioner was guilty of first degree murder. The ultimate judgment in the case is not lightly to be set aside in a collateral proceeding such as this by a mere reiteration of arguments already addressed unsuccessfully to the jury or by a mere assertion that the State’s witnesses perjured themselves and that the State knew it.
Walker v. Bishop, 295 F.Supp. at 776-77. We conclude, even considering these inconsistencies,21 some of which were not in [1248]*1248evidence before the jury, that any rational trier of fact could have found proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. at 319, 324, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2791, 61 L.Ed.2d 560. Thus, the insufficiency of the evidence argument of Walker does not, under the ends of justice, justify reexamination of the issues raised again in the second habeas petition.
D. Conclusion
The district court in its June 2, 1981 order cites and relies on two decisions of other courts of appeals that have rejected successive applications for writ of habeas corpus. In United States ex rel. Townsend v. Twomey, 452 F.2d 350 (7th Cir.), cert, denied, 409 U.S. 854, 93 S.Ct. 190, 34 L.Ed.2d 98 (1972), the Seventh Circuit held that the district court abused its discretion in reconsidering grounds in a habeas application that were previously determined, stating that “[wjhile the writ should never be denied in the proper case, judicial economy dictates restrictive limitations on reruns.” Id. at 357. Similarly, the Second Circuit in United States ex rel. Schnitzler v. Follette, 406 F.2d 319 (2d Cir.), cert, denied, 395 U.S. 926, 89 S.Ct. 1783, 23 L.Ed.2d 244 (1969), held that the district court was bound to follow the court of appeals’ prior decision on a habeas corpus application, rendered upon a factual and legal background identical to that before the district court. Chief Judge Lumbard observed that federal habeas corpus jurisdiction over state prisoners is “a branch of criminal jurisprudence which is badly in need of some principles of finality.” Id. at 322.
The tests of Sanders were applied in both Twomey and Follette as they were by the district court in this case. A final word from Sanders is appropriate:
The principles governing ... denial of a hearing on a successive [habeas] application are addressed to the sound discretion of the federal trial judges. Theirs is the major responsibility for the just and sound administration of the federal collateral remedies, and theirs must be the judgment as to whether a second or successive application shall be denied without consideration of the merits. Even as to such an application, the federal judge clearly has the power — and, if the ends of justice demand, the duty — to reach the merits____ We are confident that this power will be soundly applied.
Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. at 18-19, 83 S.Ct. at 1078-79.
We conclude that the district court properly ruled that the several grounds should not be reconsidered, and properly refused to hear additional testimony on these grounds.
This case presents a classic example of an effort to have a second consideration of issues once painstakingly decided. There is no reason to believe that what the district court decided in 1967 and what this court decided in 1969 can be decided better today. What we have is a persistent effort to present the same arguments in the hopes that at some point another judge or group of judges will consider the case in a more sympathetic light. In his concurring opinion in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 337 n. 12, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2798 n. 12, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), Justice Stevens quotes at length from Professor Bator’s article, Finality in Criminal Law and Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners, 76 Harv.L.Rev. 441, 451 (1963), as follows:
The presumption must be, it seems to me, that if a job can be well done once, it should not be done twice. If one set of institutions is as capable of performing the task at hand as another, we should not ask both to do it. The challenge really runs the other way: if a proceeding is held to determine the facts and law in a case, and the processes used in that proceeding are fitted to the task in a manner not inferior to those which would be used in a second proceeding, so that one cannot demonstrate that relitigation would not merely consist of repetition and second-guessing, why should not the first proceeding “count”? Why should we duplicate effort? After all, it is the very purpose of the first go-around to [1249]*1249decide the case. Neither it nor any subsequent go-around can assure ultimate truth. If, then, the previous determination is to be ignored, we must have some reasoned institutional justification why this should be so.
... What seems so objectionable is second-guessing merely for the sake of second-guessing, in the service of the illusory notion that if we only try hard enough we will find the “truth.”
There is every reason to reject Walker’s efforts to have the initial determination of the district court and of this court be second-guessed. As Justice Harlan once observed:
Both the individual criminal defendant and society have an interest in insuring that there will at some point be the certainty that comes with an end to litigation, and that attention will ultimately be focused not on whether a conviction was free from error but rather on whether the prisoner can be restored to a useful place in the community.
Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. at 24-25, 83 S.Ct. at 1081-82 (Harlan, J., with Clark, J., dissenting).
Consideration of the ends of justice involves not only the interest of the accused in. justice but the interest of the public in justice. The incident that gave rise to Walker’s conviction occurred nearly twenty years ago. Retrial would in all likelihood be an impossibility. These considerations, as well as the Sanders analysis, support the refusal of the district court to retry the issues so carefully decided.
II. Additional Grounds Asserted
In its June 2, 1981 order, the district court granted an evidentiary hearing on the new or additional grounds asserted in Walker’s second petition for writ of habeas corpus. See Walker v. Lockhart, 514 F.Supp. at 1353. These were: (1) newly discovered evidence that would exonerate Walker; (2) a denial of due process because of an alleged inducement by state authorities not to apply for a writ of certiorari following this court’s ruling in 1969; and (3) a denial of effective assistance of counsel because of alleged intimidation of Walker’s counsel by the trial judge and by police officers and other officials.
The district court heard evidence on only two of the three grounds since the claim of newly discovered evidence was candidly abandoned at the outset of the hearing. [H. II, 173-74.] The district court considered Walker’s due process claim and found it to be without merit. Although Walker’s counsel decided to abandon this claim following presentation of the evidence, the district court found there was no credible evidence in the record to report it. [H. II, 365, 499.]
Finally, the district court ruled that Walker’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel was unsustainable. At the habeas hearing Walker’s former counsel who had assisted in representing him at trial clearly testified that he was not intimidated. [H. II, 369, 500.] The district court found that Walker had received an excellent defense by two experienced attorneys, that there was no intimidation by the trial judge or by the North Little Rock Police Department, and that Walker’s defense had been praised in glowing terms by this court. [H. II, 499-500.]
Walker does not seriously urge error in these findings. After carefully reviewing the record, we conclude that these findings of the trial court were not clearly erroneous. Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a); see Weiland v. Parratt, 530 F.2d 1284, 1289 (8th Cir.), cert, denied, 429 U.S. 847, 97 S.Ct. 130, 50 L.Ed.2d 118 (1976).
The orders of the district court denying the writ of habeas corpus are affirmed.