CAMP VERDE, Ariz. (AP) – A man who tended to a fire for sweat lodge ceremonies led by motivational speaker James Arthur Ray said Nov. 9 that Ray and his staff pressured participants to remain inside the structure more so last year than in the previous two years.
But in questioning from a defense attorney, Ted Mercer agreed that Ray and his team weren’t abusive in their encouragement of the dozens of people who attended, nor did Ray physically force anyone to be in the sweat lodge.
Prosecutors are relying on the testimony of Mercer and five other witnesses to show that Ray acted recklessly in conducting sweat lodge ceremonies for several years at a retreat he rented near Sedona.
Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter stemming from the October 2009 event that resulted in the deaths of three people.
Three of six witnesses for the prosecution testified Tuesday in a hearing that will determine whether evidence from ceremonies Ray led between 2003 and 2008 will be admissible at his trial that’s scheduled to begin in February.
“I believe we can prove this state of recklessness only by the jury considering what happened before,” said Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk.
Defense attorney Tom Kelly compared Ray’s case to someone who is facing manslaughter charges in a reckless driving incident, and questioned whether prosecutors could call witnesses to testify about the driving history.
“Clearly the answer is no, because it is incumbent on the state of Arizona to prove Mr. Ray’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt which existed in October 2009 and not simply that he’s a bad person because these people got sick,” Kelly said.
Ray’s attorneys have said the deaths are tragic accidents, not criminal acts.
The hearing continued Wednesday with testimony from Mercer’s wife, two sweat lodge participants and a sheriff’s detective.
The Mercers were stationed outside sweat lodges that Ray led from 2007-2009, tending to heated rocks and sending them through a flap and into the center of the sweat lodge. Ray then would pour water of the rocks, sending steam rushing through the structure in a ceremony typically used by American Indians to cleanse the body.
Ted Mercer said he saw more and more people in distress over the years, including a man who thought he was having a heart attack, people whose eyes were rolled back, a woman who went into convulsions and others who couldn’t say who or where they were after exiting the sweat lodge.
“It always concerned me when people were coming out landing in the dirt face first and you would have to drag them away from the door,” he said.
Defense attorney Luis Li repeatedly flashed pictures on an overhead projector of participants smiling, being hosed off with water and flashing their biceps, asking if those were some of the same people that Mercer said were distressed.
“When they were in distress, we weren’t taking pictures, we were helping them,” Mercer said. “A lot of these people come around.”
Amayra Hamilton, the co-owner of the retreat where Ray held the sweat lodge ceremonies, testified that Ray wanted the lodges increasingly bigger and hotter over the years and shot down suggestions that separate ceremonies be conducted for larger groups.
Hamilton called 911 in 2005 in response to a man she said was spiritually disconnected from his body but physically was able to move, and later said he enjoyed the experience. Hamilton said a woman in 2009 exhibited the same type of behavior.
Li said Ray responded to the 2005 incident by limiting the number of rounds, holding the ceremony in daylight and setting up a recovery station for participants. He suggested any problems with the sweat lodge were the fault of those who built them and provided the materials for them.
“I’m not telling you it’s anybody’s fault,” Hamilton responded. “That’s up to the judge and the jury.”