Self-help guru James Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide in the deaths of three participants at a $10,000-per-person Arizona sweat-lodge ceremony he led in 2009. Arguing that the lodge was heated to a dangerously high temperature, causing participants to suffer dehydration and heatstroke while Ray remained indifferent to those clearly struggling, prosecutors said Ray’s recklessness in operating the sweat lodge caused the deaths of 38-year-old Kirby Brown, 40-year-old James Shore, and 49-year-old Lizbeth Marie Neuman. However, Ray was found not guilty of manslaughter charges. The case will reconvene June 28, when the jury will make a decision regarding aggravating circumstances. Ray faces up to eleven years on the three convictions, but he could be sentenced to just probation.
Self-help guru convicted in Arizona sweat lodge deaths [LAT]
James Ray found guilty of negligent homicide in sweat lodge case [CNN]
Related: James Ray Defends Himself [NYM]
