James Arthur Ray

In 2016 James was the subject of the CNN Films’ documentary “Enlighten Us: The Rise and Fall of James Arthur Ray,” a recount of Ray’s rise to fame in the self-help industry followed by his 2011 conviction for negligent homicide and his later release from prison. In the documentary, Director Jenny Carchman explores the origins of the self-help industry, what attracts followers, and tries to answer why devotees are willing to take such risks.

Following the deaths, Ray refused to speak to authorities and immediately left Arizona. According to participants in the heat endurance exercise (which was misrepresented by both Ray and his organization as a "Native American sweat lodge ceremony"), a note was left that said Ray was unavailable—as he was in "prayer and meditation". Ray later confirmed, during a 2013 interview with Piers Morgan, that he fled the scene rather than staying to assist with the aftermath, because "I was scared.".

Ray was given a supervised release on July 12, 2013. The 55-year-old left the state prison near Phoenix on July 12, 2013. Although Ray is not barred from conducting self-help seminars or sweat lodge ceremonies, AP noted, “[H]is brother said Ray has no immediate plans to resurrect his business.” However, the brother left open the possibility by maintaining that the tragedy was not Ray’s fault. Ray's website features video of his 2007 appearance on Oprah Winfrey.

On November 25, 2013, Ray re-launched his self-help business on CNN’s Piers Morgan Live. He had stipulated that no other guests could participate in the interview. As of December 4, 2013, Piers Morgan’s manager, John Ferriter, was James Arthur Ray’s manager and media contact.

The court case began on May 1, 2011. The prosecution rested its case on June 3, 2011, after 34 witnesses had taken the stand and 43 days of testimony. On June 22, 2011, Ray was found guilty on three counts of negligent homicide, and not guilty of the manslaughter charges brought against him. On November 18, 2011, Ray was sentenced to two years in prison.

In 2011 James Arthur Ray was convicted of three counts of negligent homicide, after his February 3, 2010 arrest for the deaths of three participants in one of his New Age retreats. He served two years in Arizona state prison and was released under supervision on July 12, 2013. As of 2016 Ray was attempting to relaunch his career as a motivational speaker.

Ray was arrested in connection with the deaths on February 3, 2010, and bond was set at $5 million. Ray's attorney argued that he could not afford the $5 million, and Ray was released on February 26, 2010, after bail was reduced to $525,000.

The lawsuit was eventually dismissed in October 2010, on the ground that the case was based on a good that was being offered, and the judge deciding that the sweat lodge was a service rather than a good.

In July 2009, Colleen Conaway attended a seminar hosted by James Ray International in which the attendees were directed to dress as homeless people. She fell to her death at the Horton Plaza Mall in San Diego. She died as a result of injuries, and according to police, she had no identification on her person.

On October 8, 2009, at a New Age "Spiritual Warrior" retreat conceived and hosted by Ray at the Angel Valley Retreat Center in Yavapai County near Sedona, Arizona, two participants, James Shore and Kirby Brown, died as a result of being in a nontraditional sweat lodge exercise. Eighteen others were hospitalized after suffering burns, dehydration, breathing problems, kidney failure, or elevated body temperature. Liz Neuman, another attendee, died October 17 after being comatose for a week.

On October 15, 2009, after extensive interviews with participants and ancillary witnesses, the Yavapai County sheriff's office upgraded the level of the investigations into the deaths of James Shore and Kirby Brown to a 'homicide investigation'. Officials claimed the nontraditional "sweat lodge" structure lacked the necessary building permits. Print media began reporting that Ray conducted a conference call with some victims, one of whom recorded the call and provided it to the AP. During this call, a self-described channeler said that they had communicated with the dead and they had said they "were having so much fun" out of their bodies that they didn't want to return. On October 27, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar asked the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the event to complement the local investigations. On October 30, a wrongful death lawsuit claiming negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and other actions on the part of Ray and the site owners was filed for the family of Liz Neuman. A similar action was filed for Sidney Spencer who was seriously injured. The suits sought compensatory and punitive damages alleging that defendants failed to provide adequate prior warnings, to monitor the participants' well being in the sweat lodge, and to provide medical treatment. On November 10, Dennis Mehravar, an injured attendee from Canada, joined the Spenser suit.

The Native American community actively seeks to prevent abuses of its traditions. The Angel Valley owners announced they have accepted Native American friends' help to "heal the land". On November 12, 2009, news reported Oglala Lakotas filed a lawsuit, Oglala Lakota Delegation of the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council v. United States against the United States, Arizona, Ray and site owners, to have Ray and the site owners arrested and punished under the Sioux Treaty of 1868 between the United States and the Lakota Nation, which states that:

James Arthur Ray's father was an Oklahoma preacher at the Red Fork Church of God in Tulsa. "The hardest part of my childhood was reconciling how Dad poured his heart into his work, how he helped so many people and yet he couldn't afford to pay for haircuts for me and my brother," Ray wrote in his 2008 book Harmonic Wealth. "How could a loving God keep me from Cub Scouts on account of not being able to afford a uniform?" However, a classmate of his recalled that "Ray always dressed well and knew he'd make something of himself."

Ray taught Stephen Covey motivational seminars while employed at AT&T and claimed he later worked two years for the Covey foundation; however the company has no record of him as an employee or contractor. In 2006 he appeared on CNN's Larry King Live and was one of several narrators in the film The Secret. He also appeared on the Today Show and Oprah.

Participants of a James Ray "Spiritual Warrior" exercise in 2006, after signing waivers, were told to put the sharp point of an arrow used in archery against the soft part of their necks and lean against the tip. A man named Kurt sustained injuries during this exercise as the shaft snapped and the arrow point deeply penetrated his eyebrow.

Former attendees of Ray's seminars have reported unsafe practices and lack of properly trained medical staff in 2005. A New Jersey woman shattered her hand after she was pressured by Ray to participate in a quasi-martial arts board-breaking exercise. After several unsuccessful untrained attempts, the woman sustained multiple fractures during the seminar that was held at Walt Disney World.

In 2005, preceding the events of October 2009, a serious injury involving hospitalization was reported at the Angel Valley Ranch during a "Spiritual Warrior" retreat led by Ray. Verde Valley Fire Chief Jerry Doerksen's department responded to an emergency call that a 42-year-old man had fallen unconscious after exercises inside a sweat lodge.

Concerns have been raised since 2000 regarding the safety and soundness of his methods.

According to Grant Cardone, in 2000 Ray consulted him for methods to increase sales at business seminars, and was warned to teach only sound business practices. After this time, Ray began incorporating sleep deprivation, fasting, fire and glass walking, and his invented versions of sweat lodge ceremonies.

James Arthur Ray (born November 22, 1957) is a leadership and performance advisor, life coach, and author who was found directly responsible for the deaths of three people and convicted of felony negligent homicide. He is the author of Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want, which was a New York Times bestseller.