James Ray sentence to
6 years in prison don't drop the soap 
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(CNN) -- James Arthur Ray, the self-help expert convicted in the deaths of three people after an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony, has done little to redeem himself and deserves the maximum possible sentence of nine years in prison, relatives of the victims told the judge Friday.
"My heart's been ripped out. My life has been blown apart, and the pieces are yet to land," said Virginia Brown, whose daughter Kirby Brown died during the 2009 ceremony in Sedona, Arizona.
Ray, who faces up to three years in prison on each of three counts of negligent homicide, tearfully told the court that he has "no excuse" for what happened that October day or since.
"At the end of the day, I lost three friends, and I lost them on my watch," he said. "And whatever errors in judgment or mistakes I made, I'm going to have to live with those for the rest of my life."
Prosecutors allege that Ray's recklessness caused the deaths of Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, New York; James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; and Lizbeth Marie Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minnesota. At least 15 others who took part in the sweat lodge ceremony became ill.
The lodge, made of willow trees and branches and covered with tarpaulins and blankets, was heated to a perilously high temperature, causing the participants to suffer dehydration and heatstroke, prosecutors alleged.
They also said Ray didn't monitor the temperature inside the lodge or the well-being of participants and was indifferent to those having trouble.
Ray's lawyers countered that the deaths were the result of a tragic accident, not a crime. They asked witnesses who were in the sweat lodge whether they signed a release form warning them of the dangers. All replied that they signed, but some said they didn't read the form.
Ray's attorneys also suggested that exposure to an unknown toxin in the lodge -- perhaps a pesticide, rat poison or something in the type of wood used to heat the rocks -- could have caused the deaths.
Ray asked Judge Warren R. Darrow to sentence him to probation, saying he is no threat to society and promising never to conduct another sweat lodge ceremony again.
"It pains me beyond belief to be here today, with the best of intentions gone wrong," he said.
Event participants paid up to $10,000 to seek "new areas of consciousness" at the Spiritual Warrior retreat in the desert, according to trial testimony. Many had attended previous James Ray International seminars.
At Friday's hearing, Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk said Ray and his attorneys have tried to portray him as the victim of an unfair prosecution. But she said that theme was incorrect.
"The theme that emerges is that the defender led the life of a pretender and that he is dangerous," Polk said.
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