Self-help author's manslaughter trial nears end

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. (AP) – Closing arguments in self-help author James Arthur Ray's manslaughter trial are expected this week, thereby handing the case to jurors who will decide whether Ray is responsible for the deaths of three people stemming from a sweat lodge ceremony he led.

The jury has heard months of testimony in a case that could send Ray to prison for more than 37 years. Jurors must find that Ray was aware of, and consciously disregarded, a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death to convict him of three counts of manslaughter.

Prosecutors say they clearly have proven that Ray was reckless in his handling of the sweat lodge ceremony that is commonly used by American Indians to rid the body of toxins. They say Ray recklessly caused the deaths of Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, and Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., by increasing the heat and humidity in the October 2009 sweat lodge and failing to check on participants who were vomiting, passed out or were having trouble breathing.

Ray's attorneys contend the heat had nothing to do with the deaths. They called two witnesses during the trial to support the argument that toxins or poisons contributed to the deaths and that investigators ignored that possibility. They contend Ray would have stopped the ceremony had he known that people were on the verge of death.

The attorneys' closing arguments could come as early as Wednesday if prosecutors decide against calling rebuttal witnesses and the parties have no legal issues to work out. The prosecution and defense were finalizing jury instructions Tuesday that will take about 45 minutes to read before the arguments begin.

For many of the more than 50 people who attended Ray's weeklong “Spiritual Warrior” seminar, the sweat lodge was a first. Each signed a waiver acknowledging the ceremony would include tight, enclosed spaces and intense temperatures, and that serious injury and death were among the risks.

The waivers came up often during the trial, as Ray's attorneys made the case that participants had free will and that he did not physically keep them from leaving the sweat lodge or require that they participate at all. At least one person sat out and told investigators it did not appear safe.

Others stayed for the entire eight rounds that lasted 10 to 15 minutes each and had no major problems, while some left and returned as they pleased.

Eighteen people were hospitalized with illnesses ranging from heat exhaustion to kidney failure. Shore and Brown died that day, and Neuman was in a coma for more than a week before she died. Medical examiners who performed the autopsies attributed the deaths to heat stroke and organ failure but testified during trial that they could not rule out chemicals typically found in pesticides.

Ray encouraged participants to stay inside the sweat lodge as a way to break though whatever was holding them back in life. Prosecutors have said Ray conditioned people through breathing exercises, a 36-hour fast in the scrub forest and sleep deprivation to ignore their bodies' signs of distress and told them not to intervene in others' experiences.

–––

Felicia Fonseca can be reached at http://twitter.com/FonsecaAP .