A little more than two years after three people died from suffocating in a sweat lodge during a "Spiritual Warrior" retreat, the retreat's leader, James Ray, has been sentenced to prison for his role in the sweat lodge deaths, reports The Arizona Republic.
Ray, who was found guilty on three counts of negligent homicide in June, was given two-year sentences in prison for each count. However, the two-year sentences will be served concurrently. Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Warren Darrow told the courtroom that he thought probation should not be awarded given "the aggravating circumstances of emotional harm," according to The Republic.
Since Ray is required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence and he has already spent 24 days in prison, he will need to serve at least 600 more days behind bars. He will also have to pay the victims' families $57,000 in restitution. The money will likely provide little consolation to them, however, as seen by the emotional atmosphere in court.
"Does he still not realize it was too damn hot?" Virginia Brown, mother of victim Kirby Brown, shouted in court. "Please, take him off the market."
The three victims - James Shore, Liz Neuman, and Brown - had reportedly died due to their participation in a sweat lodge ceremony that was supposed to be the culmination of the five-day long retreat. Brown and Shore died of heat stroke after passing out for more than 20 minutes during the ceremony. Neuman later died of massive organ failure.
Although jurors did not find Ray guilty of manslaughter after a four-month-long trial, they did find his actions to be egregious enough to merit negligent homicide. Under Arizona law, negligent homicide is a class 4 felony and carries a minimum sentence of 1.5 years in jail.
James Ray's criminal defense attorneys said they plan to appeal his conviction. However, the judge refused to allow Ray to remain free on bail pending the outcome of the appeal.
Related Resources:
- Find a Phoenix Criminal Defense Attorney (FindLaw)
- Homicide (FindLaw)
- Sweat Lodge Deaths Highlight Dangers of Inexperienced Spiritual Guides (FindLaw's KnowledgeBase)
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