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Oprah-approved “self-help” guru James Arthur Ray will be sentenced today after a jury found him responsible for the deaths of three people during a 2009 sweat lodge ceremony near Sedona.
Ray, who in September was convicted of three counts of negligent homicide, faces anything from probation to nine years in prison for the deaths of 49-year-old Liz Neuman, 38-year-old Kirby Brown, and 40-year-old James Shore.
See our coverage of Ray’s death lodge here.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, Ray — the leader of the “Spiritual Warrior” self-help retreat — discouraged participants from leaving the sweat lodge, even as some were throwing up and passing out.
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Neuman of Prior Lake, Minnesota, died of multiple-organ failure after the ceremony. The other two victims, Brown, of Westtown, New York, and Shore, of Wisconsin, each fell victim to heat stroke after being in the sweat tent.
Predictably, Ray’s attorneys are arguing for probation, while prosecutors are pushing for the maximum sentence.
We want to know what you think: should Ray be sent to prison, or should should Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Warren Darrow show him mercy and sentence him to probation.
Cast your vote below.
