Opening arguments begin in Ariz. sweat lodge case

[March 02, 2011]  CAMP VERDE, Ariz. (AP) -- Three people who died following an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony remained in the sweltering enclosure to prove to a self-help guru that they were committed to the event "full-on," a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.

Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk asked jurors to keep in mind the victims' mental state as they hear evidence in the manslaughter trial of James Arthur Ray, which is expected to last four months.

She said the victims -- Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman -- and others were eager to learn the tools for financial, personal and spiritual success that Ray promised to impart, and they didn't want to disappoint him.

"Instead of growth and enlightenment, Kirby, James and Liz found death in Mr. Ray's sweat lodge," she said.

Defense attorney Luis Li disputed Polk's contention that Ray conditioned dozens of people to trust him during the October 2009 ceremony near Sedona. He said participation wasn't mandatory and that authorities never followed up on reports that the victims and others who were injured may have had toxins in their system.

"If the state's case is that he's so persuasive that he can make people do something against their will, well then he's not very good at it because a lot of people left," Li said. "Nobody was coerced. People chose for themselves."

Ray sat with a stoic look on his face throughout opening arguments, which were set to continue Wednesday morning in Camp Verde.

The families of Brown, of Westtown, N.Y.; Shore, of Milwaukee; and Neuman, of Prior Lake, Minn., sat in the courtroom's first two rows, weeping at times as Polk described how the three died.

Ray faces three counts of manslaughter; a conviction on all three could put him in prison for more than 35 years.

Polk relied on Ray's own words for much of her opening statement, playing portions of a recording of the event in which Ray told participants the sweat lodge would be "hellacious hot." Ray told participants they might vomit, enter into altered states of mind or feel like they're dying. But he assured them they wouldn't physically die.

Autopsy reports showed the 38-year-old Brown and 40-year-old Shore died of heatstroke, while the 49-year-old Neuman's organs shut down due to hyperthermia and prolonged sweat lodge exposure.

Li said prosecutors presented excerpts of the recording out of context. Ray repeatedly told attendees to participate "full-on" as a way to break through whatever was holding them back in life, defense attorneys have said.

He further argued that prosecutors failed to consider that environmental factors -- treated wood burned to heat the rocks placed inside the sweat lodge, and rat poisoning in the shed where tarps and blankets for the ceremony were stored -- could have been a factor in the deaths and illnesses. He also said the victims were neither severely dehydrated nor had elevated body temperatures.

"The state looked one direction and one direction only," he said.

Shore and Brown were pronounced dead when they arrived at a hospital.

Neuman, upset from having been scolded by Ray for drinking wine the night before, remained in the sweat lodge even though she was suffering, Polk said.

"When you hear testimony from witnesses about their attempts to alleviate Liz's suffering, I ask that you remember Liz's unhappiness with herself for breaking Mr. Ray's rules," Polk told jurors.

Eighteen others were injured in the ceremony that Polk referred to as a "heat endurance challenge," yet dozens emerged with no major problems.

American Indians typically use sweat lodges to rid the body of toxins.

Participants paid more than $9,000 each to attend Ray's "Spiritual Warrior" event, with the sweat lodge meant as the highlight.

Polk said Ray surprised participants with details of the sweat lodge ceremony just minutes before it started. Li contended participants were well aware of the health risks, having signed a waiver months in advance that mentioned a ceremonial sauna.

[Associated Press; By FELICIA FONSECA]

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