FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Attorneys for a self-help author imprisoned in the deaths of three people say the prosecution has done little to show the case wasn’t plagued by error.
James Arthur Ray wants his conviction on three counts of negligent homicide and his 2-year prison sentenced overturned. His attorneys have called into question some jury instructions and the conduct of prosecutors from Yavapai County in briefings to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
The deaths followed a 2009 sweat lodge ceremony Ray led near Sedona. The victims were Kirby Brown, of Westtown, N.Y.; James Shore, of Milwaukee; and Liz Neuman, of Prior Lake, Minn.
In a cross-appeal, the attorney general’s office says jurors should have been told that Ray had a duty to aid participants in distress and to avoid creating a situation that put them at unreasonable risk of harm.
Ray’s attorneys replied this week, asking again for an acquittal or a retrial.
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