Attorneys for sweat lodge leader facing manslaughter charges seek reduction in $5 million bail

Sweat lodge guru attorneys argue against $5M bail

PRESCOTT, Ariz. — The conditions of release for a motivational speaker charged with manslaughter will be modified, but exactly how won’t be revealed until later this week, a judge said Wednesday.

Attorneys for James Arthur Ray have been trying to persuade the judge to lower his $5 million bond. Ray has been held in a county jail in Camp Verde, Ariz., since his arrest earlier this month.

Ray is facing three manslaughter counts for deaths that occurred following a sweat lodge ceremony he led near Sedona in October. If convicted, he faces up to 12½ years on each count, with probation being an option.

Prosecutors asked that the bond be set at $1.5 million to ensure Ray’s continued appearances in court, along with the surrender of his passport and restrictions on travel. But defense attorneys argued that Ray should either be released on his own recognizance or bail be set at a couple hundred thousand dollars. They said he cannot afford even a $1 million bond, isn’t a flight risk or a threat to public safety and has no criminal history.

Earlier Wednesday, Ray’s attorneys called their first of two witnesses — the financial controller for Ray’s company, James Ray International — to testify in an effort to discredit a determination from the sole prosecution witness that Ray’s net worth is $2.4 million.

Alex Smyth testified that Ray’s business is operating at a loss, employees were laid off, his properties are in foreclosure and that Ray essentially drained his bank accounts following the Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony in anticipation of high legal fees, not in an effort to flee.

“There would be no reason for him to behave that way,” he said.

Defense attorneys said Ray’s family had offered up properties they own as well as jewelry and other assets to help bail Ray out of jail, but bail agent Jeff Wilhelm testified that much of that couldn’t be included as part of a bond package. He estimated the value of a Beverly Hills mansion Ray recently put up for sale at only $250,000.

“What’s happening here is wrong. It’s just plain wrong,” Ray attorney Luis Li said in closing statements. “It’s like the state created special rules for Mr. Ray, that he should get the highest bond in Yavapai County history.”

Prosecutors focused almost entirely on Ray’s finances during the hearing. Richard Echols, an accounting fraud examiner, testified for the prosecution to dispute claims that there’s no way Ray can post the bond.

Ray’s attorneys voluntarily provided bank statements, portions of tax returns and other financial information to authorities Echols reviewed, but he said the documents painted an incomplete picture.

In closing statements, Hughes argued that $1 million that Ray set aside for legal fees, another $1 million that was unaccounted for, and his estimated net worth of $2.4 million certainly doesn’t mean Ray is struggling to the extent his attorneys contend.

“Mr. Ray does have the financial means to post the $1.5 million bond,” Hughes said.

Ray appeared in court in a suit and appeared to listen intently to the arguments, even looking at representatives for victims as they spoke following testimony. At one point, he winked at his girlfriend sitting in the row behind him and held his hand in a fist over his heart.

Prosecutors allege Ray recklessly crammed more than 50 participants of his five-day “Spiritual Warrior” event into a 415-square-foot sweat lodge, a small heated enclosure used in traditional American Indian ceremonies to cleanse the body.

Many participants have said Ray chided them for wanting to leave, even as people were vomiting, getting burned by hot rocks and lying unconscious on the ground.

Ray’s attorneys have called the deaths a tragic accident and said he took all the necessary precautions and immediately tended to the ill.

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

An attorney for the Shore family said they took no position on the bail but believed Darrow would rule fairly, while Brown’s parents and a woman representing Neuman’s family opposed any reduction.

The Browns’ attorney, Robert Magnanini, asked Darrow to restrict Ray from holding seminars if he is released.