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BySadieGurman The Associated Press CENTENNIAL, COLO. De- fense attorneys for James Holmes made one more ap- peal for mercy Thursday for the Colorado movie the- ater shooter, urging jurors to consider his mental ill- ness in his sentencing even though they rejected his claim of insanity when they found him guilty of murder- ing 12 people and trying to kill 70 others. "Nothing we do here in this case is going to turn back the hands of time. And nothing we do will bring back those who died or heal the wounds of those who were injured," said his lawyer, Tamara Brady. "It was not about noto- riety, it was not about ha- tred. It was about the delu- sion," she said. "The stress- ors triggered his psychosis, the psychosis caused him to be delusional, and come up with this plan to shoot people in this theater," she said. "No one has said that Mr. Holmes is malingering or faking or exaggerating psychiatric symptoms. He is indisputably mentally ill." Brady acknowledged that prosecutors have tried to explain the "random and senseless crime" by describ- ing a theory that Holmes methodically pursued a mission to kill. "But the mere senseless- ness of it shows that it was psychotic. There was no political statement or re- ligious statement or state- ment of any kind about what happened in that the- ater," she said. "He didn't send anything to the New York Times or The Den- ver Post. He sent his note- book to his psychiatrist. It had nothing to do with no- toriety." District Attorney George Brauchler countered that Holmes wanted to increase his value by killing others, and it was because of that belief that he qualifies as schizophrenic. "Is mental illness going to be a shield here to protect someone who had the ca- pacity to make decisions?" the prosecutor asked. "No- body in their right mind could plan the massacre of a theater full of human be- ings. We should take com- fort in that. But not having the right mind does not pro- tect you from the ramifica- tions of your decisions." A woman interrupted the prosecutor, screaming "he's wrong!" and "don't kill him!" as she was pulled from the courtroom. Br- auchler smoothly returned to his argument once the courtroom door closed, and the judge later told jurors to disregard the outburst. After the jury left to deliberate, the judge de- scribed her as a homeless woman who had behaved herself until then. Prosecu- tors asked her to be held in contempt, while the defense said it would be more hu- mane to hospitalize her as mentally ill. The judge said he would decide the matter later and wasn't concerned that jurors were influenced by the episode. Now each juror must decide if they see any rea- sons to override a poten- tial death penalty and sen- tence Holmes to life with- out parole. Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. gave them lengthy in- structions, detailing the evidence presented about Holmes' childhood, his mental illness, his connec- tions to people who love him and other potentially mitigating factors that would reduce his "moral culpability." COLORADO THEATER SHOOTING De fe ns e, D A ar gu e reasons to spare gunman's life By Joan Lowy The Associated Press WASHINGTON Congress sent President Barack Obama a three-month bill to keep highway and tran- sit money flowing to states on Thursday, one day be- fore the deadline for a cut- off of funds. Earlier in the day, the Senate passed a sweeping, long-term transportation bill, setting up discussions with the House this fall on what the future course of transportation policy should be and how to pay for programs. The Senate approved the short-term bill by vote of 91 to 4. The House passed the same bill a day earlier, and then left for its August re- cess. Lawmakers said they hope the 3-month patch — the 34th short-term trans- portation extension since 2009 — will be Congress' last. It extends the govern- ment's authority to pro- cess aid payments to states through Oct. 29. Without congressional action, that authority would have ex- pired at midnight Friday. The bill also provides $8 billion to shore up the fed- eral Highway Trust Fund through mid-December. The fund's balance was forecast to drop below a $4 billion cushion necessary to prevent disruptions in payments to states in early August. The extension bill also fills a $3.4 billion hole in the Department of Veter- ans Affairs' budget. The money gap threatened to force the closure of hospi- tals and clinics nationwide The $350 billion long- term bill, approved by vote of 65 to 34, would make changes to highway, transit, railroad and auto safety programs. How- ever, its sponsors were only able to find enough money to pay for the first three years of the six-year bill. That's not as long as many lawmakers and the White House wanted, nor as much money, but it was enough to win the support of many state and local of- ficials, transportation re- lated industries, and labor unions who have been im- ploring Congress for years to pass to bill that will pro- vide states the certainty that they can count on fed- eral aid as they plan major construction projects. The bill's passage is "a win for our country," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "Many thought we'd never get here, but we have." Sen. Barbara Boxer, D- Calif., negotiated com- promises with McConnell that helped pick up enough Democratic support for the bill for it to clear proce- dural hurdles and pass. "We had to give some ground, but we found com- mon ground," Boxer said. "And we all believe this bill is so important for our nation. McConnell had tried to persuade the House to de- lay its recess in order to take up the Senate's long- term bill, but GOP leaders there opted for the short- term patch in order to give themselves time to craft a long-term bill that reflects their priorities. The Senate's long-term transportation bill also re- news the Export-Import Bank, which makes low- interest loans to help U.S. companies sell their prod- ucts overseas. The bank's charter expired June 30 in the face of opposition from conservatives, who call it corporate welfare. A fight in the House over renewal of the bank is also likely. The long-term trans- portation bill shores up the federal Highway Trust Fund for three years by using about $45 billion in revenue increases and making spending cuts else- where in the federal bud- get. The largest source of funds is $16 billion that would be saved by reduc- ing the dividend rate the government pays to large banks. The bill also attempts to speed up environmental re- views of construction proj- ects and encourages states to impose user fees on elec- tric vehicles because they use roadways but don't contribute to federal gas tax revenues. It also sets aside money for major proj- ects and directs highway aid to major freight trans- portation corridors, start- ing with $1.5 billion in fis- cal 2016 and increasing to $2.5 billion in 2021. The safety provisions are the most controversial transportation part of the bill both for what they in- clude and what they don't include. The bill requires that rental car agencies fix cars subject to safety re- calls before renting them, but it doesn't include lan- guage sought by safety ad- vocates requiring car deal- ers to fix recalled used cars before selling them. It would triple the amount the government can fine automakers who don't dis- close safety defects or re- port consumer complaints from $35 million to $105 million — significantly less than the $300 million sought by the White House. It would force the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Ad- ministration to conceal from the public its safety ratings of trucking compa- nies; the trucking industry says the agency's method- ology is flawed. CONGRESS Highway, transit aid bill passed DANNYJOHNSTON—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Traffic passes by a highway construction zone in Little Rock, Arkansas. By Brian Witte The Associated Press ANNAPOLIS,MD. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has an- nounced plans to immedi- ately shut down a "deplor- able" Baltimore jail that was the focus of a federal corruption investigation. Hogan said at a press conference Thursday that the state would save $10 million to $15 million a year by closing the "deplor- able" Baltimore City Deten- tion Center. It houses hundreds of inmates awaiting trial or serving short sentences. Current employees and inmates will be reassigned to other facilities. "There is plenty of ca- pacity in the system," Ho- gan said. For that reason, it "makes no sense to keep their deplorable facility" operating. For security rea- sons, the destinations of the inmates will not be dis- closed. The jail grabbed head- lines in 2013 after a sweep- ing federal indictment ex- posed a sophisticated drug- and cellphone-smuggling ring involving dozens of gang members and correc- tional officers. The investi- gation also exposed sexual relations between jailhouse gang leader Tavon White and female guards that left four of them pregnant. Forty of the 44 defen- dants charged in the rack- eteering conspiracy have been convicted, includ- ing 24 correctional offi- cers. Thirty-five defendants pleaded guilty; eight defen- dants went to trial and one defendant has died. For his part, White pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The ACLU and the Balti- more-based Public Justice Center last month called on a federal judge to reopen a lawsuit against the state of Maryland over what the agencies described as sub- standard conditions. According to the law- suit, the jail's medical and mental health care possibly played a role in the death of seven inmates over the last couple of years. The groups allege inmates suffering from illnesses such as HIV and diabetes were denied life-sustaining prescrip- tion medication. The filing also described moldy show- ers, cells infested with mice and cockroaches, poor ven- tilation and broken toilets. The agencies also said the state failed to cure sys- temic problems, despite en- tering into a 2007 agree- ment with the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice. In response, Mary- land Department of Pub- lic Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stephen Moyer said he was commit- ted to changes. He noted the state has spent more than $58 million over the past 10 years to improve the safety and security of inmates and staff. David Fathi, director of the ACLU National Prison Project, said closing the fa- cility would be a positive step, though he expressed concern about how hun- dreds of inmates would be transferred. "Given the jail's history of dysfunction we're con- cerned about implementa- tion, where the prisoners will go and if that will gen- erate crowding in other fa- cilities," Fathi said. "We've consistently seen problems that when detainees are transferred from one facil- ity to another, the ball often gets dropped with regard to their health care, some- times with serious conse- quences." Governor to close Baltimore detention center PATRICK SEMANSKY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan speaks at Baltimore City Detention Center on Thursday to announce his plan to immediately shut down the jail. 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