Technology Slice

James Ray Sweat Lodge

Overnight, James Arthur Ray went from being a star of the self-help movement to homicide suspect.

Three died, and about twenty others were hospitalized, as a result of injuries sustained in the ritual’s extreme heat. The local sheriff’s office launched an investigation of the deaths as negligent homicides, and Ray’s trial in the court of public opinion began. Former followers and employees made allegations of irresponsible behavior, and Ray canceled all public appearances and retreated into silence (but for some blog posts) so that he could “dedicate all of my physical and emotional energies to helping bring some sort of closure to this matter.”

Ray hired a team of lawyers and private investigators who built a preemptive defense case, outlined in a pair of “White Papers,” that maintains Ray’s innocence. Police reports from Arizona, where the investigation is ongoing, paint a different picture: One survivor of the sweat lodge quoted Ray telling the group, “You are not going to die. You might think you are, but you are not going to die.”

Tags: Allegations, Closure, Deaths, Defense Case, Emotional Energies, Extreme Heat, Followers, homicide, Homicides, Innocence, Irresponsible Behavior, James Arthur Ray, James Ray, Police Reports, Private Investigators, Public Appearances, Public Opinion, Survivor, Sweat Lodge, White Papers
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