Probation sought in sweat lodge case

November 16, 2011|Associated Press

PRESCOTT, Ariz. - Attorneys for a self-help author convicted in the deaths of three people following an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony are making their case for probation.

James Arthur Ray’s defense team called the first of nearly two dozen witnesses yesterday to testify on Ray’s behalf. Ray led dozens of people in the October 2009 ceremony near Sedona. He is facing up to nine years in prison after being convicted on three counts of negligent homicide.

Defense witness David McCall Jr. said Ray’s teachings put him on the path to spirituality, a better relationship with his family, and improved health. He turned to Yavapai County Judge Warren Darrow and pleaded for leniency for the man he considered a friend.

Ray’s best interest was in the people attending his events, he said. The Cleveland, Texas, resident told of the guilt his son felt recently when a horse he had been exercising stumbled and died.

“Sometimes people don’t really have that control, that they make people die,’’ he said. “Probation would be better.’’

Prosecutors had presented several witnesses in an effort to show that Ray’s events progressively became more dangerous, his ego was overblown, and he was fixated on earning money.

The families of the victims - James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y; and Liz Neuman, 48, of Prior Lake, Minn. - have said Ray did nothing following the sweat lodge ceremony to make them believe that he was concerned.

Ray’s lawyers have outlined 17 reasons they believe he should not be locked behind bars, including his lack of prior criminal history; good character; expression of remorse for the deaths, which he has maintained were a tragic accident; and the need to care for a mother with thyroid cancer and a father with dementia.

Darrow will weigh the testimony from both sides before sentencing Ray on Friday. If Darrow gives Ray prison time, the defense has asked that the sentences be served concurrently and not start until after the appeals process.

Ray’s defense team contends the four-month trial was tainted by prosecution errors and says there is a significant possibility he’ll prevail on appeal.