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US self-help guru charged in 'sweat lodge' deaths |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 04 February 2010 |
US self-help guru charged in 'sweat lodge' deaths
Thursday February 4, 2010
FLAGSTAFF, Arizona (AP): Authorities have charged a well-known U.S. motivational speaker with manslaughter for the deaths of three people who fell ill during a ritual gathering in a sauna-like space called a sweat lodge.
James Arthur Ray was arrested Wednesday afternoon at his attorney's office, sheriff's officials said. His bond is set at $5 million.
The sweat lodges are based on American Indian purification rituals. Participants gather in a special building and are exposed to heat and steam.
The Oct. 8 sweat lodge at a retreat outside Sedona, Arizona, was intended to be the highlight of Ray's five-day "Spiritual Warrior" event. Participants, who paid more than $9,000 each to attend, were promised that it would be one of the most intense experiences of their lives.
About halfway through the two-hour ceremony, though, some people began feeling ill, vomiting and collapsing. But Ray urged participants to push past their physical weaknesses and chided those who wanted to leave, authorities and participants have said.
Two victims - Kirby Brown, 38, and James Shore, 40 - died that night at a hospital.
A third, Liz Neuman, 49, died a week later. Eighteen other people were hospitalized.
One participant, Beverley Bunn, has said that Ray did nothing to help the sick. Ray's attorneys have countered that he took safety precautions and wasn't aware of any medical problems inside the darkened lodge until the ceremony was over.
The self-help superstar teaches people about financial and spiritual wealth, using free seminars to recruit followers to more expensive events.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/4/apworld/20100204110758&sec=apworld
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