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Motivational speaker James Arthur Ray
was arrested Wednesday afternoon on three counts of manslaughter
for deaths that happened after a sweat lodge ceremony he led in
northern Arizona last year.

      Ray was taken into custody on an indictment at his attorney's
office in Prescott, and was to be booked into the Yavapai County
jail in Camp Verde, sheriff's officials said. His bond was set at
$5 million.


      Ray's attorneys said Wednesday he surrendered to authorities but
that the charges were unjust and they were confident he would be
exonerated in court.

      "This was a terrible accident, but it was an accident, not a
criminal act," Ray attorney Luis Li said. "James Ray cooperated
at every step of the way, providing information and witnesses to
the authorities showing that no one could have foreseen this
accident."

      The Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony was intended to be the highlight
of Ray's five-day "Spiritual Warrior" event at a retreat he
rented just outside Sedona. He told participants, who paid more
than $9,000 each to attend, that it would be one of the most
intense experiences of their lives.

      About halfway through the two-hour ceremony, some began feeling
ill, vomiting and collapsing inside the 415-square-foot structure.
Despite that, Ray urged participants to push past their physical
weaknesses and chided those who wanted to leave, authorities and
participants have said.


      Two people - Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James
Shore, 40, of Milwaukee - passed out inside the sweat lodge and
died that night at a hospital. Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake,
Minn., slipped into a coma and died a week later. Eighteen others
were hospitalized.


      Neuman's daughter, Andrea Puckett, said Wednesday she was
pleased with Ray's arrest and the effort authorities put into the
investigation.


      "It helps that he is, for now, being stopped from doing what
he's doing, from harming anyone else, and that's the biggest relief
for me and my family right now," said Puckett, of Bloomington,
Minn.


      Participant Beverley Bunn previously told The Associated Press
that Ray did nothing to help the sick during the October sweat
lodge ceremony. Following Ray's arrest Wednesday, she said she had
"many tears of joy."


      "It's kind of a strange feeling," said Bunn, who was not among
the hospitalized. "We've been waiting a long time."

      Ray's attorneys have said he took all necessary safety
precautions and wasn't aware of any medical problems until the
ceremony was over. Ray declined to speak with authorities that
night, on the advice of his attorneys, public records have shown.


      Authorities said they quickly determined the deaths were not
accidental and focused their investigation on Ray. They conducted
hundreds of interviews that reached into Ray's past ceremonies and
events, including one in which a man fell unconscious during a 2005
sweat lodge ceremony at the same retreat near Sedona.

      The self-help superstar who teaches people about financial and
spiritual wealth uses free seminars to recruit followers to more
expensive events. His company, James Ray International, is based in
Carlsbad, Ca.

      Ray's representatives have said there was no way Ray could have
predicted the night's tragic events. Had he heard any pleas for
help inside the pitch-black sweat lodge, he would have stopped the
ceremony immediately, Ray's attorneys said.


      Documents released in the investigation showed that some people
lost consciousness and others suffered broken bones at past Ray-led
events and that Ray largely ignored medical problems that arose.


      In the weeks after the deaths, lawsuits accused Ray and the
owners of the Angel Valley Retreat Center where the sweat lodge was
held of negligence and fraud. Ray's publisher postponed two book
releases, and Ray canceled his appearances amid heavy criticism
from survivors.

      Amayra Hamilton, one of the Angel Valley owners, has said the
staff had minimal contact with Ray over the seven years he held
sweat lodges there, and that other groups had used the same lodge
for ceremonies without any problems.

      Bunn said she believes the "Spiritual Warrior" events should
be called off indefinitely.


      "It frightens me that I didn't stand back a little more," she
said.
      

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Crime, Law and Justice

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Motivational speaker James Arthur Ray
was arrested Wednesday afternoon on three counts of manslaughter
for deaths that happened after a sweat lodge ceremony he led in
northern Arizona last year.


Motivational speaker charged in death of Minnesotan, two others

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