Trial in sweat lodge deaths nears conclusion

Lawyers this week painted contrasting portraits of a self-help guru who saw three clients die in a sweat lodge: reckless profiteer or victim of circumstance.

Defense attorney Luis Li argued that the deaths during a so-called Spiritual Warrior retreat were a senseless tragedy, and that James Arthur Ray was not criminally liable for them. Li noted that people who paid nearly $10,000 to attend the weeklong workshop in October 2009 signed a waiver warning that death was among the risks.

“Sometimes an accident, no matter how tragic, no matter how horrible, is just an accident,” Li said Friday. “The state has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Ray caused three people to die with words: ‘You can do it. You can do it.’ ”

But prosecutors contended that Ray was guilty of manslaughter for subjecting 56 people to extreme conditions that he knew could be fatal.

“Mr. Ray senselessly and recklessly snuffed out the lives of Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman,” Yavapai County Atty. Sheila Polk said during closing arguments.

She contended that Ray cranked the heat up in the lodge near the New Age playground of Sedona to take participants to the brink of death, so they would be “getting something for their $10,000.”

Closing arguments are scheduled to finish next week. If convicted, Ray could face 37 years in prison.

The people in the Sedona lodge were among the 14,000 who had paid to hear Ray speak or attend one of his many workshops. He preached that people could realize their full potential only by overcoming adversity and brutal challenges.

Much of the trial, which began March 1, was taken up by testimony over what precisely killed the three participants. Ray’s lawyers contended it could be toxins or causes other than just the heat and smoke in the lodge. Li criticized investigators for not testing for possible poisons.

“The state never tested the blood that would tell us,” Li said. “You can’t hold this against Mr. Ray.”

Polk called that contention “baloney.”

“The defendant wants you to ignore what was right in front of your eyes,” she said.

Polk began her closing arguments Wednesday, playing a recording of Ray from the fateful Spiritual Warrior session. In the tape he describes a “hellacious” heat endurance challenge, and instructs the participants to ignore their bodies’ signs of distress and their natural inclination to help others who are in distress.

She recounted testimony by participants who said by the time they entered the sweat lodge, many of them were hungry, and mentally and physically exhausted from the week’s events, yet fully willing to trust the activities and trust that Ray would keep them safe.

During the chaotic scene that followed, Ray initially minimized his role in the ceremony to authorities, telling them that he was not in charge, Polk said. “Like a child caught with his hands in the cookie jar,” she said.

Ray’s lawyers objected to the playing of the tape and called for a mistrial. Judge Warren Darrow denied the motion, one of several he has shot down during the lengthy trial.

Li emphasized that the participants knew what to expect when they began Ray’s workshop.

“There was no evidence of locking doors, shoving people in. Everybody made knowing and informed choices ahead of time,” Li said. “Every single person decided what they wanted to do for themselves. That’s the truth.”

stephen.ceasar@latimes.com

Times staff writer Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.