Trial date for motivational speaker charged in AZ sweat lodge deaths vacated; no new date set

By AP
Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Trial date in AZ sweat lodge deaths case vacated

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The trial date for a motivational speaker charged in the deaths of three people following a sweat lodge ceremony he led in Arizona won’t start next month as planned.

James Arthur Ray’s trial had been scheduled to begin Aug. 31. A court document released Wednesday says the date has been vacated. No new date was set.

Yavapai (YAV-uh-pie) County Superior Court Judge Warren Darrow recently was assigned to another trial that was expected to overlap with the starting date for Ray’s trial.

Darrow had suggested that the Ray case be assigned to another judge, but he remained on the case as of Wednesday.

Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter stemming from the October deaths.

A hearing on pending motions is set for Aug. 10. That includes one to move the trial out of Camp Verde.

Discussion

LeeKuanMajor
July 20, 2010: 2:41 pm

TO THE FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO LOST RELATIVES AT THE SEDONA WARRIOR WORKSHOP:

I’ve had four near-death experiences and am just waiting for a NOBLE and HONORABLE opportunity to leave this world of body order and hardship with honor. I am indeed ready to die RIGHT NOW and, as any Samurai worth his salt will agree, the Native American adage is indeed correct: ‘It is a good day to die’. I’ve read how those three who died at the warrior workshop were athletic, giving, wonderful people. Yes indeed! Well, wonderful people are honorable people. When an honorable person borrows something you don’t have to chase him or her around to finally get what was borrowed back, right? When the dishonorable borrow something they ‘conveniently’ forget they borrowed it secretly hoping that you have forgotten so that they can, effectively, steal it. Those three who died were honorable people, right? They returned whatever they borrowed without having to be chased and hounded, right?

Honorable people don’t need contracts to keep to the agreements they make, right? And the three people who died were indeed ‘honorable’ people, right? Now, when you are dealing with the dishonorable even if they sign an agreement promising to do something they will try to find a way out of the agreement they signed and, chances are, you will have no choice except to take them to court in order for them to be FORCED to keep to the agreement they signed. The court systems are there because most are obviously dishonorable. HOWEVER, the three who died at the Sedona Warrior Workshop were not like that, right? They were honorable people, right? Well, I AM AN HONORABLE PERSON and I would have considered it an honor to die at that Warrior Workshop giving my best to become the very best person I can possibly become. That would have been an honorable and noble death indeed! I would not want to face eternity with my relatives doing their best to make me break the LEGAL PROMISE I made in the agreement I signed. If you are successful in getting the ‘legal system to break the promises made in that agreement you stain the reputation of those who died at the Sedona Warrior Workshop. Their noble deaths will be stained by the fact that YOU made them break the sacred promise they made before they died honorably. Yes, the final promise a person keeps before he or she dies is indeed a ’sacred promise’.

Is money more important to you than the honorable reputation of those brave warriors who died at the Sedona Warrior Workshop? Would you stain their entrance into the infinite by making them dishonorable liars who do not keep the promises they make? If money is more important to you than the honorable death of those you love then YOU ARE DISHONORABLE and you shame their memory by your selfish actions. UNDERSTAND THIS: just because some judge will allow you to be dishonorable and legally get away with it DOES NOT MAKE IT RIGHT!

Oh, so you want someone to pay for the deaths of your loved ones? I don’t blame you. Find out who destroyed exhibit ‘A’ in the James Arthur Ray manslaughter case and you will indeed have your culprits. Angel Valley DID NOT want anyone to discover that the vinyl tarps covering the sweat lodge were partly melted. That’s why they destroyed exhibit ‘A’ in this case before it went to trial. Why, if James Arthur Ray was caught destroying exhibit ‘A’ in his case you and your kind would probably have lynched him from the nearest tree if you caught him before the police arrived! Study into the matter and you will find that the fumes from melting vinyl tarp material are indeed toxic. How convenient Angel Valley destroyed the evidence that would confirm this. How convenient indeed. A sign of Angel Valley’s ‘angel-like’ innocence in this matter? I DON’T THINK SO!


LeeKuanMajor
July 19, 2010: 9:32 am

TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE SEDONA WARRIOR WORKSHOP:

So, you paid over $9,000.00 to go to that workshop. It had been held for, I believe, 7 years at Angel Valley. You obviously knew what you could basically expect. If you wanted to be indulged and pampered you could have used that money to go to a luxury holistic heath spa and been covered in organic mud then pampered with soothing massages. No, you didn’t want that, right? You wanted to be pushed so that you could learn the difference between what you THINK you can endure and what you ACTUALLY can endure. You wanted to be able to make dramatic use of The Secret and see your daily lives transformed. Obviously, you couldn’t get that from a luxury holistic health spa that caters to pampering you in all your cozy holistic indulgences. No, you paid the money and went to that workshop because YOU DIDN’T WANT TO PLAY IT SAFE. You wanted to be pushed out of your ‘comfort zone’ to the edge of your endurance. For this you knew you needed a Spiritual Drill Sergeant in order for you to reach your fullest potential and that’s what you got. You must admit it takes a lot of guts for James Arthur Ray to create such a workshop. It’s not as safe as a holistic ‘pamper yourself’ spa. Such a workshop is only for those who are serious about permanently changing their lives. The liability waiver made it clear enough that you might indeed be injured at that workshop. You might even die, yet you chose to PROMISE IN WRITING that you would take full responsibility for your actions when you attended that workshop and not hold James Arthur Ray or ANY of the JRI staff liable should you suffer injury and if you died your relatives could not sue over the matter. Ray should have had the attitude of a Marine Corps drill sergeant. He was nicer than that, right? Still, show me a Marine Corps drill sergeant who is always sweet and nice and I’ll show you…a worthless drill sergeant.

True warriors are honorable. They keep to the agreements they make and DON’T NEED a written contract to honor their agreements. You ‘pity me’ people who went to that workshop with the intent of breaking your promise if anything went wrong are a disgrace. You should not have been there. Supposed “warriors” who break their promises are actually losers pretending to be warriors. A drill sergeant is indeed going to shock you into a state of mind where you access your dormant potential. Once you sign the military agreement it’s too late to change your mind about the matter. Sounds to me like you crybabies would make excellent military basic training boot camp washouts. You say you were pressured by Mr Ray to stay in the sweat lodge. What did you expect? For him to pressure you not to go in and build your endurance? GROW UP and take responsibility for your actions and your lives, people! Until you can say the Native American adage “It’s a good day to die” with casual optimism and REALLY MEAN IT you will never amount to much on the path of Universal Knowledge. You should have gotten your lives in order, before you went, and been fully prepared to die at that workshop. There is no guarantee that you would not have died before you even arrived there! Next time spend your money on a self-indulgent holistic health spa for New Age weaklings that will pamper you with indulgent, holistic luxury. You don’t belong at a workshop for the strong and the honorable.

I suggest you consider this: Angel Valley destroyed exhibit ‘A’ in the James Arthur Ray manslaughter case before it went to trial because…when they took the sweat lodge apart they found that the vinyl tarps covering the breathable material were somewhat melted. God forbid you people who went to the workshop would find that out! It would mean you suffered injury because of the fumes that came from those melting vinyl tarps. Angel Valley had no business constructing a sweat lodge and covering it with non-breathable vinyl tarps. THAT’S CRAZY!!! Study into sweat lodge construction and you will indeed find Native Americans agree that a sweat lodge MUST be covered with a breathable material. So, you didn’t have enough air in the sweat lodge, eh? WHO THE HELL BUILT THAT DEATH TRAP COVERED WITH NON-BREATHABLE VINYL MATERIAL? Who assured James Arthur Ray that the sweat lodge was safe and didn’t even bother to supply thermometers to make certain it didn’t get too hot inside the structure,eh? These are the questions you really need to be asking…”warriors”


Joel
July 18, 2010: 7:49 am

THIS IS THE TRUTH: The Sedona Warrior Workshop was ONLY for honorable people who take responsibility for their actions. If you are a dishonorable person who refuses to take responsibility for your actions you had NO BUSINESS being at that workshop. You took an oath IN WRITING promising to take full responsibility for your actions at that workshop. You made a legal vow! If you are a ‘pity me’ person and you are certain your miserable lives are all someone else’s fault you had no business being at that Warrior Workshop. That Sedona event was a veritable Spirit ‘Boot Camp’ for the honorable who keep their promises.

If you break your vow it will sabotage the rest of your lives. Whatever money you may get by breaking your vow will turn against you and you can bet it all that you won’t enjoy it. The dishonorable don’t deserve to enjoy the money they get by being dishonorable. YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEARTS THIS IS TRUE!


Joel
July 17, 2010: 12:45 pm

The Sedona Warrior Workshop was ONLY for honorable people who take responsibility for their actions. If you are a dishonorable person who refuses to take responsibility for your actions you had NO BUSINESS being at that workshop. You took an oath IN WRITING promising to take full responsibility for your actions at that workshop. You made a legal vow! If you are a ‘pity me’ person and you are certain your miserable lives are all someone else’s fault you had no business being at that Warrior Workshop. That Sedona event was a veritable Spirit ‘Boot Camp’ for the honorable who keep their promises.

If you break your vow it will sabotage the rest of your lives. Whatever money you may get by breaking your vow will turn against you and you can bet it all that you won’t enjoy it. The dishonorable don’t deserve to enjoy the money they get by being dishonorable. YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEARTS THIS IS TRUE!

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