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A motivational speaker who led a sweat
lodge ceremony in Arizona that turned deadly said he feels horrible
about what happened, but declined to comment on whether he was
responsible for the deaths.


      In his first interview about the incident, James Arthur Ray
instead refers to letters drafted by his attorneys that state he
was not criminally negligent. His comments were made to New York
Magazine for a story published Sunday and later confirmed by his
representatives.


      Ray led more than 50 people in a sweat lodge ceremony Oct. 8 at
a retreat he rented near Sedona. About halfway through the two-hour
ceremony, participants began feeling weak, vomited and some passed
out in the 415 square-foot structure. 


Three people -- Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn.; Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y.; and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, -- died and 18 others were hospitalized.

      Authorities in central Arizona's Yavapai County have focused a
homicide investigation on Ray, though no charges have been filed.
Many participants have said Ray could have done more to ensure
their safety.


      Ray countered that he wasn't aware that anyone was experiencing
medical problems until the ceremony concluded, though many
participants said he ignored pleas for help inside the sweat lodge.

Ray said he made sure 911 was called afterward, held people's hands
and talked with them, stroked their hair and held IVs for
paramedics.

      "I was there the entire time, doing whatever I could to help
until I was detained by the detectives," he told the magazine.

      Ray declined to give a statement to authorities as he sat in a
police car, on the advice of his attorneys, public records released
in the case have shown. Ray said he left the following day around
lunchtime to catch a flight.


      Ray said his ego has been adjusted by the experience and he's
focused on bringing closure and finding answers to why the deaths
occurred.


      He didn't deny statements attributed to him before the sweat
lodge that people might feel they were going to die but wouldn't.

But he said they were taken "completely out of context" and were
meant to convey that people must let go of what is holding them
back before they can move forward.

      "There's no one who would say that I was talking literally,"
he told the magazine.


      Ray has made millions of dollars by persuading people his words
will lead them to spiritual and financial wealth. In late October,
he canceled his appearances amid criticism from the sweat lodge
survivors and others.

Gallery

Sweat lodge victim's family holds Ray responsible

Family, friends mourn victim of Arizona sweat lodge

Crime, Law and Justice

The man who led a sweat lodge ceremony in Arizona that turned deadly said he feels horrible
about what happened, but declined to comment on whether he was responsible for the deaths. A Minnesota woman was one of three who died in the ceremony.

Leader of fatal Arizona sweat lodge speaks out

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