The Jury: James Ray Caused Emotional Harm

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

The jury deliberated for the better part of two days over charges of aggravating circumstances. This afternoon found them deadlocked on a number of issues and unwilling to deliberate further. The one thing they all agreed upon: James Ray caused emotional harm to the families of all three decedents. That is to say, guilty on three counts of the aggravating factor of emotional harm.

They also agreed that Ray held a unique position of trust in the case of Liz Neuman. So one count of unique position of trust. On the rest of the aggravators, the unique position of trust for Kirby Brown and James Shore, and pecuniary gain, they were hopelessly deadlocked.

Judge Darrow has set a sentencing date of July 25th, 2011. He declined a motion from prosecutor Sheila Polk that Ray be taken into custody immediately. 

A little reminder from Cosmic Connie: July 25th will be the second anniversary of Colleen Conaway's death in a San Diego mall; or as she was known on that day, Jane Doe. How darkly fitting. 

A very special thanks to April Santiago of Dateline and Rachel Stockman of NBC Channel 12 in Arizona, for tweeting the news live from the courtroom. And my heartfelt thanks also to the rest of my James Ray trial peeps for being an excellent grapevine of information, even during the near media blackout on this trial.

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James Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Aggravating Tom Kelly

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Right up to the bitter end, James Ray's defense team is sticking with that arrogance and condescension thing that has served them so well throughout this trial. As the jury went off to deliberate over aggravating circumstances Tom Kelly took them to task in his closing argument for reaching the wrong verdict.

"I have difficulty finding there was any criminal act," he said, "so that makes it difficult ... to stand up here and talk about aggravating circumstances."

He presented his client as the hapless victim and implied that the jurors would have to live with what their finding did to him for the rest of their lives. For good measure he sought to intimidate them with the press scrutiny they would face for their decisions, telling them that the media would "assault" them as they left the court.

I think this was a miscalculation. He's insulted jurors who still have some decision making power over Ray's fate and who have already decided that he has some culpability. A lack of contrition is unappealing in a convicted criminal and, for now, Tom Kelly is the only voice James Ray has in that courtroom. If he comes off as arrogant, unapologetic, and unconcerned about the loss of life, so does Ray. If he comes off as disrespecting the jury, so does Ray.



He also reminded jurors that they must not be swayed by sympathy or prejudice... except for the sympathy they should have for poor James Ray, presumably.

"Mr. Ray had nothing to gain from the deaths of the sweat lodge participants," the defense said. "To the contrary, he had everything to lose and in fact did lose everything as the aftermath of the sweat lodge incident has shown."

He scoffed at the idea of pecuniary gain, insisting that the money went not to James Ray but to JRI and Angel Valley. I don't think the jury bought the idea that Ray's tiny company with a handful of paid employees was a totally separate entity during the trial. And, of course, they weren't allowed to know that Ray always required kickbacks from the hotels where he held his events.

Basically, Kelly replayed the defense's trial strategy resurrecting the organophosphate theory and reminding the jury of our freedoms.

"This is a nation of risk-takers; it's what makes us great," he said, adding that "the implications are beyond comprehension" if a leader or guide who presides over an event that leads to a fatal accident can be imprisoned for a crime.

Kelly also kept with the primary defense strategy: frequent objections and exclusion of evidence. Early in Sheila Polk's closing, he objected to her rendering of the facts. Judge Darrow reminded the jury that what attorneys say isn't evidence and they moved on.

When Polk played a recording from Ray's speech to participants, Kelly objected again, insisting that the recording was not in evidence. Judge Darrow looked at the minutes from March 2nd when the recording was admitted into evidence without objection.

"Follow the money," Polk told the jury in her closing, as she asked them to consider three aggravating factors: emotional harm to the families, the unique position of trust Ray held, and pecuniary gain.

She reminded the jury of how little information families got from JRI in the aftermath of the tragedy. She told them that Kirby Brown and James Shore were admitted to the hospital as Jane Doe and John Doe. Think about that for minute. Four people have died on James Ray's watch and every one of them spent time listed as "Doe." It's a chilling reminder that those waivers they sign are entirely to protect Ray; not the people who are paying him thousands of dollars to lead them through dangerous activities. Responsible organizations keep that kind of paperwork at the ready to hand to hospitals in the case of emergencies... along with health histories that Ray doesn't even require.

Alyssa Gillespie, Polk told the jury, didn't even know her husband James Shore had died until 30 hours later.

As examples of the unique position of trust Ray held with participants she referred to witnesses like Mike Oleson, Scott Barratt, Dennis Mehravar, and Beverly Bunn who said they all trusted Ray to keep them safe. And she pointed out that they all paid Ray a lot of money, nearly $10,000 a piece, in exchange for promised results.

"The events of the week were like a pyramid with the sweat lodge on top, designed to make the participants believe they got something for their money," she said.

"This case is about money, trust, and greed," Polk told the jury. And she reminded them of the ultimate cost.

"Mr. Ray took their money, their trust, their dreams and the lives of Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman and James Shore," Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk said in asking jurors to find that the state has proven the aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt.

As of this writing, the jury is still deliberating.

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James Ray Sweat Lodge Trial: Aggravating CNN

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Where's Waldo? Where's Megan? And Where's CNN?

Despite their having the James Ray "aggravation stage" on their schedule all weekend and up to 12:16 EDT today, CNN did a runner. Turns out the gouge on Connie Joy's Facebook page -- that they'd pulled their equipment and skipped town last week -- was correct. CNN's own employees who even confirmed via email were wrong. But that sort of total incompetence is par for the course when it comes to CNN's coverage of this trial.

And Megan Fredrickson whose testimony we were hotly anticipating? In the wind. Both she and her husband Josh took a powder. They are nowhere to be found. Through their attorney, the State learned that she was refusing to cooperate. She and her husband are afraid of being indicted. I expect they'll be avoiding the state of Arizona indefinitely.

Throughout the early part of the day, there were legal arguments which kept the jury in a holding pattern outside the courtroom. In an unsurprising move, the defense made another motion for mistrial. I'm starting to think that shouting "mistrial" is just some strange verbal tic that Luis Li can't really control.

Motions had already been flying back and forth with the defense moving to strike four of five aggravating factors proposed by the State. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss two: presence of an accomplice and the heinous, cruel, and depraved nature of the crime. No doubt these things would have been hard to prove without Megan Fredrickson's testimony.

The list of witnesses offered by the State was winnowed down to three; all family members of the deceased. Andrea Puckett is Liz Neuman's daughter. Ginny Brown is Kirby Brown's mother. Alyssa Gillespie is James Shore's widow.

And then the testimony began.

Heartwrenching Testimony During Ray Sentencing Phase: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Even without the streaming video, and relying on nothing but second-hand recounting via Twitter, I repeatedly found myself moved to sobbing. Most unbearable was the thought of James Shore's children learning of the loss of their father. Alyssa Gillespie described her three children waiting excitedly for the return of their father from his trip. She described Shore as an "amazing father," her partner, and her best friend. And she described the children's horrified grief at learning he would not be coming home.

She continued, "The wailing, the sounds... the sounds that come out of a very small child... there's no way to tell your kids that their dad is dead. I just had to do it, I just had to say their dad is dead."

Her eldest daughter experienced extreme anxiety, night terrors, and would wake up screaming "where's dad?" Her son asked Santa to bring his father back.

Gillespie was not surprised to learn that her husband had saved Sidney Spencer by taking her out of the sweat lodge. "James lived as a hero," she said.

Ginny Brown had characteristically strong words. Brown has been outspoken from the beginning, leaving no one to doubt whom she holds responsible for the loss of her daughter. She recently gave this interview in which she openly called Ray a "loser" for not following his own teachings on taking responsibility. She was equally blunt on the stand.

"I was horrified, horrified," said Virginia Brown, Kirby Brown's mother. "Kirby was a great adventurer, but she was very conscious of safety."

Brown told jurors that she blames Ray for her daughters death. Family members of all the victims say none of Ray's staff came to the hospital to help ID them.

She described her daughter as someone who "played full on since she was born."

"I would often describe Kirby as drunk on life," she said.

She described the unutterable pain of hearing the worst words a mother possibly can from a Trooper at her door. She just started screaming, she said.

Brown also disclosed that she and her family have founded SEEK Safely, an organization dedicated to educating people about some of the dangers of the self-help movement.

Andrea Puckett described her mother Liz Neuman as "full of life" and "strong willed."

Like Brown, she described the failure of James Ray and JRI to apprise her family of her mother's condition. She learned of it, she said, from her mother's Facebook page. When Ray finally contacted her, the day after her mother's death, she hung up on him.

The seven days in the hospital with her mother on life support she said were the most difficult of her life. She was overcome with emotion as she described removing her from life support.

Neuman slipped into a coma after the two-hour ceremony near Sedona. Her organs were failing, she had minor seizures, her body was swollen, she was on dialysis and was hooked up to a lot of machines, Puckett said. The family was told she had almost no chance of surviving, and decided to take her off life support.

"You want to hang on to that hope, but at the same time you have to think about her and what she would want," Puckett said. "The hardest part of being there was having to make that decision."

Puckett's daughter and what would have been Neuman's first granddaughter, 9-month-old Lauren, was born a year to the date that she dropped her mom off at the airport to go to Ray's event. Lauren's middle name, Marie, is the same as Neuman's.

She described her sadness that her mother will not be there for a fourth generation photo with her daughter and granddaughter.

Apart from the loss, what ties the family members of these victims together is how completely they were failed by James Ray. Their testimony showed jurors yet another way that his almost inconceivable  callousness made a bad situation worse. None of them were contacted promptly by JRI. Like Colleen Conaway, Neuman spent time listed as a Jane Doe. Puckett described for the jury how she ultimately had to give a physical description to the hospital so that her mother could be identified.

Defense attorneys had no questions for any of the witnesses; for once showing they know the wisdom of restraint. Not when it came to addressing the jury, however. Kelly reportedly took them to task for rushing to judgment. He let them know that he was disappointed in their verdict and in their taking only five hours to reach it. Team Ray can't seem to go a single day without acting like total dicks.

Meanwhile, CNN left confused trial watchers wondering why they spent the day seeing nothing but empty chairs:

Empty tables:

And empty feeds.

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"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Shamanism and Recovery

Shamanism offers several tiers for engagement for anyone committed to the process of their own recovery. Shamanism is first the working relationship with spirit. At its root, shamanism offers the skills for you to create your own relationship with your helping spirits. This opens a world of healing opportunities, both individual and social, in ordinary and non-ordinary reality that support the ebb and flow that is the nature of a recovery process. Shamanism is the shaman. The shaman as healer offers both a way to get at the aspects of self who remain out of reach and a way to clear and release invasive and provocative energies that often coalesce around the addict. Shamanism is also a way of living a spirit engaged life. Shamanism offers a way for the individual to repair his or her spiritual life on his or her own terms, based on personal experiences and practical teachings that have supported the cultivation of well-being for thousands of years. Join host and shaman, Christina Pratt, as she explores the multiple levels a person in recovery can access through shamanism to restore their relationship with everyday spirit help, mend their battered and abandoned relationship with their soul, and engage in a dynamic, ever-growing relationship with life and the courage to live it with an open heart.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 11:00 AM Pacific

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Why Shamanism Now? on Co-Creator Network
Questions? Comments? Call: 1-512-772-1938

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Awakenings with Michele Meiche

Living a Life of Soul Expression with Artist Leigh McCloskey

12pm PST: One on One with Michele --MICHELE MEICHE shares her weekly 2012 & beyond update, answers your questions, and does channeled readings---12:45pm PST---Welcome our Awakened Guest: Leigh McCloskey - In many ways Leigh J McCloskey is a modern renaissance man. He is an artist, author, actor and visual philosopher. He has deeply explored the archetypal and hidden aspects of the psyche through his art and experiences as a professional actor for many years. He combines a thorough knowledge of hermetic wisdom, depth psychology and mythic imagination. He’s written seven books and numerous essays. He has hosted twice-weekly philosophical discussion groups in his home, Olandar, for over 30 yrs and is the founder of Olandar Foundation for Emerging Renaissance (OFFER). Leigh’s art was recently featured with the Rolling Stones on the Bigger Bang Tour. Artwork from his illuminated books the Codex Tor were used for the highly acclaimed album, Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus. Leigh is also an accomplished actor whose professional career has spanned four decades. His life and works reveal remarkable artistry, vision and discipline and are a reminder that we are far more interesting than we have lead ourselves to believe. He founded (OFFER) as a seed idea meant to awaken our deepest knowing and nurture the creative energies of emerging renaissance. Events: 3 day seminar Pacifica Graduate Institute presents “Psyche & Soul: Psychodynamic Diagnosis of Personality Disorder with Dr. Matthew Bennett & Leigh McCloskey. July 29th-31st at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Ladera Campus, Montecito CA - Books by Leigh: Tarot ReVisioned, In the Splendor, Adam Reborn & Eve Restored: A Romance in Two Parts, Vol.1 Codex Tor: Winter Solstice, Vol.2 Codex Tor Summer Solstice, Vol.3 Codex Tor Equinox, Grimoire: Book of Magickal Spells by Leigh J McCloskey. www.leighmccloskey.com, Facebook - Leigh McCloskey & Olandar Foundation for Emerging Renaissance

Wed, Jun 29, 2011 03:00PM ET

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/awakenings

Just Energy Radio

The Yuga Cycles & 2012 & Earth Changes

Joseph Selbie
The Yuga Cycles & Changes In Counsciousness
Joseph is the co-author of The Yugas: Keys to Understanding Our Hidden Past, Emerging Energy Age, and Enlightened Future. Each yuga changes the consciousness and abilities of mankind. As mankind's consciousness changes, so do civilization and human development. The yugas provide solutions to many ancient mysteries and offer us a profound key to understanding our modern era – the energy age.
Bente Hansen
Inner Transformation, 2012 & Earth Changes
Bente is an energy healer, medical intuitive, channeler, spiritual counselor and author. In early 2000 Australian, Bente Hansen, was approached by a group of non-physical beings while she was working in her healing room. They offered to be her teachers, and she accepted. Since then her skills in working with, and understanding, energy have become expansive. It took a leap of faith to accept that learning could come totally from non-physical beings.
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Fri, Jul 1, 2011 03:00PM ET/02:00PM CT

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Awake: Now What?

Elvin Dowling, Speaker, Mentor, Author, Architect of Change

Elvin Dowling is an internationally-acclaimed public speaker, mentor, author, and America’s leading advocate for achieving greatness by embracing change.

What’s unique about Elvin Dowling?

He brings deep personal experience to his message and audience at every level.

Having worked in a homeless shelter, in corporate America, on Capitol Hill, and as an entrepreneur, Elvin possesses the capacity to effectively serve individuals, corporations, organizations and communities.

Elvin was born into poverty to an unwed, teenage mother. By age 19, he had lost two brothers and most of his cousins to gang and drug-related violence.

The great tennis player, the late Arthur Ashe once said… “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” And in the face of devastating change, Elvin did just that.

He began his speaking career under the sprawling shadows of an old oak tree in the hard knock area of West Palm Beach, Florida, where he ministered to the outcast members of society.

At age 16, he was licensed to teach discipleship and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Science, with a minor in Government and Politics and has completed graduate work in a Master of Professional Studies program at the New York Theological Seminary.

As Chief of Staff for the National Urban League, he served as a liaison to some of the top executives of nearly 500 corporations and organizations in the United States and around the world.

As an insider, he learned the language of the corporate environment. More importantly, however, as The Architect of Change™, he effectively speaks to the needs of others in a way that penetrates the mind, pierces the heart and inspires the individual to step into their greatness.

For more information go to http://architectofchange.com/home.php

Sun, Jul 3, 2011 06:00PM ET

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/awake

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Horoscope for June 27 - July 3

Cross-posted from Aloha Astro

Aries (March 21st - April 20th)
Taking faith-based actions or following your personal values will be an important part of your week, Aries. Your sign believes in what it can personally see or do. Connecting to something bigger than yourself by going within and then trusting your feelings to guide you may be a different method for you than acting on logic and fact. The new moon and eclipse take place in your 4th house of home, family, and psychological foundations. When you operate from your heart and gut responses, interesting things may happen. You love a new beginning of any kind - I think you will really like the excitement and emotional stimulation this week.

Taurus (April 21st - May 20th)
Although the new moon and partial eclipse occur in your 3rd house of local travel, siblings, communication, and imagination, the week begins with the moon in your 1st house of self. Therefore, you may feel as though you have begun anew before the energy of the new moon even gets here! Jupiter and Pluto may make you feel larger than life, smarter, and more sure of things than you have ever been before. That's a very good thing because you will be juggling money, chores, communications, and either pursuing what you want aggressively or expanding your boundaries very, very fast. Only a Taurus completely full of him- or herself can have enough stamina for the week.

Gemini (May 21st - June 21st)
Your nervous system is a bit high-strung lately, Gemini, thanks to a heavily-aspected Mars in your sign. You may be doing much more on the physical level than you usually do, and this week will be just as active. You can tap into extra reserves of energy and an abundant, generous source of creative ideas that can help you work smarter - not harder - if you take a day at the beginning of the week to rest, dream, journal, meditate, and connect with nature. This will also help you weather the new moon and eclipse in your 2nd house of money and personal values. When you remove yourself from distractions, you can see what is important to you and find creative ways to meet your needs.



Cancer (June 22nd - July 22nd)
The planets are highlighting your sign this week, Cancer. The new moon and eclipse occur in your 1st house of self. Yes, it is all about you! You will be in demand among friends or in a group, attracting attention of all kinds. The planets also have your 7th house of marriage and partnership running on turbo blast. Sometimes you may feel passionate and loving and other times angry or confused about your feelings in relationship. Use the last two days of June to carefully examine your true feelings before you make decisions or commitments or issue ultimatums. Everyone benefits from being near a body of water this week, but the shoreline is home to your sign, the Crab. Sitting near an ocean that rises and falls with the tides and crashes out a heartbeat with the waves can center and feed you.

Leo (July 23rd - August 22nd)
Deep sea diving in the 12th house of your subconscious and the collective is the high point of your week, when the new moon and eclipse turn your energy within. Before the eclipse arrives, you will be extremely busy with work. You may have more work than you think you can do. Enlist friends or ask family members to help. You will have fun socializing while you work, and having a lighter workload can allow you the quiet time you need the day of the new moon. When the new moon energy peaks, you may experience emotional shifts you cannot fathom, but you know something shifted. Then, as the weekend arrives, you follow the moon into your sign feeling born again and ready to take on even more creativity and challenge than before.

Virgo (August 23rd - September 22nd)
The power of your creativity drives you to present your ideas or work to people now. A hobby or passion may have been evolving into a business idea the last few weeks and now you are ready to put on the show. The new moon and eclipse fall in your 11th house of friends, groups, organizations, and wish fulfillment. I think that includes the Internet, the gallery, the stage, or any place where you present and connect. For some of you, it could be a material product you are ready to market, but even information or services can be a fine art when your sharp mind, discernment, practicality, and taste for quality come together. Your first market group or audience could be your mate or friends. Ask them for feedback - they support you and want to be a part of the process.

Libra (September 23rd - October 23rd)
For the last two weeks or so, the planets have been amping up your personal power, Libra. The surge of energy has been directed to work, career, home, your psychological foundations, and family. You have a determination lately to work very hard or do what is necessary to care for your family, have what you want materially, and advance in the world. So, what is missing? Love may be the last thing on your mind right now, or you and your partner may be trying to figure out the when and how of spending time together. Single Libras may seem too independent and aloof to interest would-be partners. The new moon and eclipse in your 10th house of career may find you reaching even higher for your success goals. Existing relationships may have to change and adapt as you expand. New people in your life may have to wait for a slot on the daily planner.

Scorpio (October 24th - November 21st)
The new moon and eclipse in your 9th house of higher education, foreign travel, philosophy, and communication opens up a sea of possibilities, Scorpio. The 9th house is too broad to be able to give you an exact horoscope this week. The other planets scattered through your chart highlight more thinking, talking, restless movement, creativity, and love. Sit by some water on the new moon with a pen and paper and begin a list where each sentence starts with, "I think I will…" Some of those sentences may end with: move, get married, change jobs, write more, go to school, travel, have a baby, get a pet, sculpt, dance, etc., etc., etc… You get the idea. Life is fruitful and juicy, but not without some upsets and challenges as the days pass this week. Stay creative and fluid.

Sagittarius (November 22nd - December 21st)
You may feel as though a great responsibility rests on you this week, Sagittarius. The new moon and eclipse occur in your 8th house of sex, death, taxes, metaphysics, business partnerships, inheritance, and investments. At the same time, powerful Pluto is intensifying your 2nd house of money and personal values. Relationship, romance and work, home and family are busy, too - in case you've been too busy to notice. If you feel like you live a week in a day lately, it is due to the transits in your chart. This lunation may make you feel like you want to be more, have more, and step up to a level where your business, investments, values, income, or possessions become so large that they benefit other people. Your urge to exceed your limitations is great now.

Capricorn (December 22nd - January 19th)
The realization that you can't go through life happily alone or that you are not as strong and self-sufficient as you appear may hit you during the new moon and eclipse in your 7th house of marriage and partnership, Capricorn. Some Capricorns may make a commitment in relationship that will change their living arrangements. Others may get out and circulate among friends or engage in more social or recreational activities in order to be seen and meet new people. You have a strong mind and heart connection now that can help you find the right words, whether you are opening yourself up to someone new or deepening your emotional connection to an existing partner.

Aquarius (January 20th - February 18th)
Work at home, work around the home, or homework (the school kind) may keep you very busy this week, Aquarius. The new moon and eclipse take place in your 6th house of work, service, purpose, and health. First, be sure to rest and eat well. Second, when you slip into fear or worry, slide over to conviction and determination. "You can't afford the luxury of a negative thought," is a true statement for you now. There is just as much strength in the positive aspects within your chart as there is in the darker aspects, so choose wisely. The new moon may require extra effort to swim through for you because it also activates Pluto in your 12th house of the subconscious. Water (the Cancer moon) and air (your Aquarius sun) don't mix well and you may feel uncomfortably soggy in your soul for a day or so until the moon moves on into fiery Leo and dries you out, possibly heating up your social and romantic life. Until then, tread water and float on your back.

Pisces (February 19th - March 20th)
The entire realm of creative and playful activity is open to you this week, Pisces. The new moon and eclipse in your 5th house enhance the other planets that are already making you a sought-after performer, teacher, group leader, or presenter. The moon is pointing you in the direction of your personal expression and pleasure. It doesn't care what people expect from you or what you think you should be doing - it is asking you to pursue what makes your own heart sing. When you follow your own passion and then present your new creative efforts, some may like it and some won't, but that won't bother you. It is the perfect week for lessons of non-attachment. Also, some Pisces who have been thinking of having or adopting a child may decide to go ahead. Others may expand their family with a pet or new housemate or move to a new home. This is a busy week that floats by more easily if you can see the humor in it all.

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Astrological Trends for June 27 - July 3

Cross-posted from Aloha Astro

Emotional stability and mental certainty steer the day on Monday, June 27th. The moon in the fixed, steady earth sign of Taurus is sextile Mercury in the cardinal water sign of sensitive Cancer. Moon semi-sextile Venus in the mutable air sign of Gemini enhances your sense of well-being. Venus semi-sextile Mercury boosts your ability to hold a positive mindset. The sun in the cardinal water sign of Cancer leads you into a busy summer week with aspects to almost every planet today. The sun opposes Pluto in the cardinal earth sign of Capricorn, makes a trine to Chiron in the mutable water sign of Pisces, a square to Uranus in the cardinal fire sign of Aries, and a sextile to Jupiter in the fixed earth sign of Taurus. Pluto is intensifying everything through aspects to other planets, as well. Besides the opposition to the sun, Pluto also forms a square to Uranus in the cardinal fire sign of Aries, a quincunx to Mars in the mutable air sign of Gemini, a very beneficial trine to Jupiter in the fixed earth sign of Taurus, and a sextile to Chiron in Pisces. With so much activity between planets in different elements and qualities, I like to simplify and look at the sun and Pluto as the dominant factors. They are the planets most affected and the planets most likely to affect you. At times, you will tap into the trines and sextiles and things will flow easily, but when one of the squares, or the opposition, is active, you may experience challenges. The sun represents the sense of self and Pluto is essentially power. Situations this week will make you look to yourself and connect to your own inner power. That sounds wonderful - and ultimately it is - but it won't always be easy! The cardinal T-square between the sun in Cancer, Uranus in Aries, and Pluto in Capricorn that was in place last week continues to be in effect until this Thursday. You have adjusted to this energy, and the predominance of other aspects may diminish its effect, too, but be prepared for an element of friction wherever rules and order are challenged by a need for adjustment to change and progress.

"Feisty" is the word of the day on Tuesday, June 28th. The moon in the mutable air sign of Gemini joins Mars in Gemini and, together, they form a square to Neptune and Chiron, loosely conjunct in Pisces. You may want to be perverse or difficult in an ornery way just to disturb the boring or complacent. Act out or vent your feelings now. Don't censor the silly or absurd - that's the stuff future anecdotes are made of. The moon also forms a supportive sextile to Uranus in the cardinal fire sign of Aries, increasing hyperactivity and restless emotions. At lunchtime, the moon and Mars, conjunct in Gemini, form a quincunx to Pluto in Capricorn. Present new ideas logically and calmly if you wish them to be accepted. If you attempt to do anything without getting all your ducks in a row and anticipating the "what-ifs," you are liable to be shot down or be sent back to the drawing board before you can proceed further. That moon/Mars conjunction is very impetuous and emotionally child-like. As the conjunction interacts with Pluto in Capricorn, it will poke a stick at the patriarchal, strict energy of Capricorn, which can be easily irritated by youthful zeal, so easy does it! At dinnertime, the moon and Mars in Gemini form a favorable trine to Saturn in Libra. This active aspect supports couples doing things together socially. With the sun in Cancer sextile to Jupiter in Taurus, a picnic or barbeque with family and friends is a perfect way to enjoy a summer evening.



On Wednesday, June 29th, the moon in the mutable air sign of Gemini cozies up to Venus in Gemini as the day progresses. Early this afternoon, the sun in Cancer forms a problematic square to Saturn in Libra. Now that the sun in Cancer and Uranus in Aries have moved out of a square aspect to each other, the cardinal T-square begins to lose its stressful influence. Late this evening, the moon conjunct Venus in Gemini makes a semi-sextile to Mercury in Cancer. This aspect supports friends, lovers, children, and family through lighthearted delight and affection. All your relationships take on a happy warmth tonight. If you are looking for a partner or new friends, take advantage of the friendly ease the moon and Venus are delivering.

Sweet dreams may linger on the morning of Thursday, June 30th, when the moon in the mutable air sign of imaginative Gemini joins sweet Venus and makes a favorable trine to Neptune in Pisces. Maybe you will be floating on feelings of new love or creative possibilities as the day gets under way. Either way, there should be a smile on your face and a dreamy look in your eyes. At lunchtime, the moon leaves Gemini and enters the cardinal water sign of Cancer. The Cancer moon moves into a square with Uranus in Aries later this afternoon. It also forms a supportive sextile to Jupiter in Taurus. Another cardinal T-square is triggered by the moon in Cancer opposing Pluto in Capricorn while the moon squares Uranus in Aries, and Uranus in Aries is squaring Pluto in Capricorn. The moon in Cancer approaches the sun later this evening and the energy of a new moon in Cancer, along with a partial eclipse, begins to build. Spend the evening in quiet introspection. If you are with family or friends, give everyone their space and respect their feelings, even if you don't feel the same as they do. Everyone experiences the new moon issues in a different way based on where it occurs in their birth chart.

New moon in Cancer, a partial eclipse, and a new month arrive in the early morning hours of Friday, July 1st. The conjunction of the sun and moon in Cancer forms a square to Saturn in Libra, but also a sextile to Mars in Gemini. Mars is especially energized by the planets now. Besides the sun/moon sextile, there is also a sextile between Mars and Uranus in Aries, a quincunx between Mars and Pluto in Capricorn, a square between Mars and Chiron conjunct Neptune in Pisces, and a semi-sextile between Mars and Jupiter in Taurus. This is another potpourri of planetary energy. When I blend it all together, the message I get is, "Protecting what I believe in or value." If rules are broken, morals disregarded, or manners forgotten, the result may be extreme. The word "martial" comes from Mars. You can expect emotions to be extremely touchy under the influence of a new moon in the cardinal water sign of protective Cancer. Both Pluto and Mars are potent planets and heavily aspected now. Although Pluto in Capricorn is power hungry, it has the maturity and patience to wait. Mars is in the immature, impatient, quicksilver-fast air sign of Gemini. The quincunx between Mars and Pluto, each with their own "team" of planets behind them, should make the game extremely unpredictable and potentially dangerous. I have an image of a bear shaking down a swarming nest of stinging honeybees to get the honey. If you know what you want and are prepared to force an issue, do battle, and possibly burn bridges to get what you want, then go for it. Otherwise, lay low and stay out of the line of other people's fire today. Direct the energy toward ruthlessly cleaning up your own home or examining your own core beliefs and habits with an eye toward eliminating what is old to make way for the new. The old may still have some merit, but it can also be limiting. Now would be the perfect time for reforms that would affect the long-term health of the planet and her people, but big business may continue to hang on to old technology or resources out of laziness or greed. Feelings of patriotism are flying high with today's aspect - a perfect tone for a 4th of July holiday weekend in the USA. Unfortunately, that same patriotic fever can fan the flames of war even higher now. Stay calm and centered inside and use the volatile Mars and Pluto energy for physical activities. Being active now is the best way to stay in balance emotionally. Later this evening, when the sun and moon move apart, Mars in Gemini and Uranus in Aries also move out of aspect and a trine slips in between Mars in Gemini and Saturn in Libra. The crazy intensity of the day becomes more subdued. People become more predictable and concerned with being socially acceptable. That Mars/Saturn trine can even help you pursue and woo the object of your affections tonight. With Venus in Gemini semi-sextile Mercury in Cancer and Mercury quincunx Neptune in Pisces, finding the right dreamy things to tease and charm another is easy. It is the perfect evening to watch a romance or fantasy film and, after the planetary stress earlier today, you may need an escape.

Some romantic carryover from last night may make the morning of Saturday, July 2nd, cozy and sweet. The moon continues to move through the cardinal water sign of emotional, nurturing Cancer. Venus in Gemini, Mercury in Cancer, and Neptune in Pisces are still weaving an imaginative, creative, soft spell on you. Family fun at the beach or a water park would be an excellent use of this morning's aspects. Mercury enters the creative, fun-loving, ardent fire sign of Leo this morning, which will affect your state of mind. When Mercury moved through Cancer, worrying and whining were the negative manifestations of water (Cancer) on the brain (Mercury). The fire of Leo mixed with Mercury can lead to exaggeration or bragging when it behaves badly, but it is essentially inclusive, open, cheerful, creative, and companionable, even when engaged in competition. The pleasure is in the game, not in winning. You may get a real head rush from the new Mercury energy today - it can fire up your creativity and conversations. A wonderful trine between Venus in Gemini and Neptune in Pisces, which will be felt until July 7th, settles in today. This is an extremely romantic, happily-ever-after aspect. Spend time with your partner now or open your mind to the possibility of finding a dream lover. At dinnertime, the moon leaves the sign of Cancer and joins Mercury in the fixed fire sign of Leo. Together, they form a semi-sextile to Venus in Gemini and a quincunx to Neptune in Pisces, adding more spice to the Venus/Neptune trine already present. The Leo moon forms a trine to shocking Uranus in impetuous Aries later on, as well. Do you remember the movie "Romancing the Stone" with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas? There is a very exciting and romantic scene where they are attending a tribal celebration. As women begin to dance around the fire to music, Turner is told that the women dance and then approach the man they desire to be with. Previously shy and frightened, Turner finds her courage through her own passion and takes the risk in approaching Douglas. He is (pleasantly!) surprised. The aspects tonight favor bold moves in passion. A square that develops later this evening between the moon/Mercury in Leo and Jupiter in Taurus indicates that you could be pressed to expand beyond your comfort zones. Don't worry - Jupiter in Taurus is also favorably aspecting Pluto in Capricorn and Neptune conjunct Chiron and Uranus in Aries. A bold new move in love or creativity will only make you bigger, stronger, and more confident.

A highly productive and active morning is possible on Sunday, July 3rd. I don't see how anyone will be able to stay in bed long while the moon in the fixed fire sign of Leo is making a sextile to Saturn in Libra and a sextile to Mars in Gemini. Both those sextiles activate the trine between Saturn in Libra and Mars in Gemini. Strategy, planning big ideas or projects, and implementing them - then following through at a high speed until completion - is what this overall pattern suggests. A camping trip, and all the activities involved in it, would be exciting and socially enjoyable now. At midday, Mercury in the fixed fire sign of Leo forms a square to Jupiter in the fixed earth sign of Taurus and remains in effect until the 7th of July. This is not a horribly difficult square, but it may make you think you can accomplish more than you are physically able. But because Jupiter is a beneficial planet, the problems of a square may be surmounted and the creativity of Mercury in Leo can make you say, "I'll make it happen!" Many of your challenges now will be viewed as an opportunity in the rough. Early this evening, the longstanding opposition between Mars in Gemini and Pluto in Capricorn vanishes. Your ideas and actions get a burst of speed now. If there has been something holding you back, it may now let go or lose its importance. Mercury in Leo is forming a favorable trine to Uranus in Aries, whispering in your ear, "Go on - take a chance - try something new," and Mars is shouting, "Now! Do it now!" How can you resist?

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James Ray: Aggravating Circumstances, Mitigating JETs -- UPDATED

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: See below.

Next week the James Ray trial will enter the aggravation phase. I doubt highly that CNN will stream it which is unfortunate. It could prove to be some of the most explosive testimony yet. Why do I say that? Two words: Megan Fredrickson. I was a little thrown when I saw her name on the list. I thought, either she's done quite an about-face or her testimony is being compelled. I'm inclined towards the latter possibility.

As per Lynn LaMaster of eNewAZ, the aggravation phase is a necessary step in determining sentencing. She has been updating this page as new information has come in on the verdict and post-verdict phase.

According to A.R.S. § 13-701 (C), "The minimum or maximum term imposed... may be imposed only if one or more of the circumstances alleged to be in aggravation of the crime are found to be true by the trier of fact beyond a reasonable doubt or are admitted by the defendant..."

The 'trier of fact' in this case is the jury.

Many circumstances are listed in A.R.S. § 13-701, but Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, in a motion filed with the court on February 16, alleges four aggravating circumstances:

1. The presence of an accomplice (A.R.S. § 13-701 (D)( 4)).
2. The especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner in which the offense was committed (A.R.S. § 13-701(D)(5)).
3. Defendant committed the offense as consideration for the receipt, or in the expectation of the receipt, of anything of pecuniary value (A.R.S. § 13-701(D)(6)).
4. The victim or, if the victim has died as a result of the conduct of Defendant, the victim's immediate family suffered physical, emotional or financial harm (A.R.S. § 13- 701 (D)(9)).

If the jury finds the aggravating circumstances are true, James Ray could be sentenced to 3.75 years in prison for each count. If the jury does not find any of the above aggravating circumstances to be true, Ray could receive a sentence that only includes probation.

Item one on that list, presence of an accomplice, is where I'm guessing Fredrickson's testimony comes in to play. She was Ray's second in command and largely responsible for controlling access to Ray. She sat next to him throughout the sweat lodge and sprinkled his fevered brow with water. She served him peeled grapes and fanned him with peacock feathers... Okay, I made that last part up.

Fredrickson has been in the State's sights for a while. She was interviewed by Detectives Poling and Diskin and given immunity for the duration of that interview, provided she told the truth. She didn't. At least not all of it. The transcript is a study in obfuscation. Her husband Josh was only slightly more forthcoming. It was, to quote the Salty Droid, "a HUGE mistake."

There's a lot of tantalizing information in the form of questions and a lot of hmmming from Megan. I'm guessing the primary issue will be a message Melinda Martin received from Fredrickson about cleaning out Ray's office because the police would be conducting a search. Martin, who is also on the witness list, was just not down with the program and turned the message over to police. When confronted by detectives, Megan developed a rather severe memory problem.

Det. Diskin: … Just one last issue and I appreciate you for talking to us again for all this stuff that we're going through but did you, do you remember leaving a voice mail for Melinda Martin in the weeks after the sweat lodge incident?

Megan: Uh huh

Det. Diskin: Do you remember what that message said?

Megan: I left her several voice mail messages so I'm not sure

Det. Diskin: I'm talking about the one where, and she saved this, where you call Melinda Martin and say that Josh and Greg are going through the office looking for anything that has to do with Spiritual Warrior so that you could get rid of it before the Detectives get there and find it.

Megan: Really?

Det. Diskin: Do you remember leaving that message?

Megan: Not with that language but

Det. Poling: What was the language?

Megan: Uhm, I, God, getting rid of stuff? Really?

Det. Diskin: Because the Detectives are gonna come there and get it. Or there was concern that the Detectives would come there and get it. Which we went there and didn't find hardly anything (Inaudible) from the Spiritual Warrior which we thought was odd cause we found all kinds of stuff for all the other events but for some reason Spiritual Warrior was, hardly anything was there.

Megan: Huh. No

. . .

Det. Poling: Her voice mail. The message you left, what was that? What was said to her?

Megan: I don't remember

I'm no legal expert but that looks like obstruction of justice to me. That, at the very least, is what Fredrickson has hanging over her head. So it will be interesting to see if her memory comes back.

Aside from the picked over office detectives found at JRI, Det. Diskin also testified to finding Megan's backpack stuffed with waivers. So Fredrickson's testimony could prove interesting. It sure would be nice to hear it.

Here is the complete list of witness the prosecution intends to call:

• Virginia Brown
• Ross Diskin
• Megan Fredrickson
• Amayra Hamilton
• Alyssa Gillespie
• Jane Gripp-Shore
• Michael Hamilton
• Melinda Martin
• Andrea Puckett

Ray's defense will also be presenting mitigating factors. It turns out they're getting a little help from a one Karen Ortiz who has been attempting to drum up support in the form of support letters. On Connie Joy's Facebook page, someone posted the email she sent out to a super-secret list.

I met you at a James A Ray Event and IF you would like to send a letter sharing how James has helped you in your life
I can give you instructions from James.

The lost of our friends was very difficult and emotional, some people are saddened by the accident… while others are not supportive of the case. Please do...n’t debate the case – the jury has acquitted James of manslaughter but has found him guilty a lesser charge. The letters will be used by his lawyer next Tuesday.

James helped myself and many others – email back if you would like to write a letter about how James has helped your life for the better.

Please disregard if you do not wish to participate,
EMAIL me if you would like instructions….

Thank You …he has always been in God’s hands
(I got your email address from and undisclosed email from JAR office years ago
….I do not use for any other subject)
Blessings, Karen Ortiz

Interesting dichotomy this message sets up between people who are saddened by "the accident" and those who aren't "supportive" of the case. Does that mean that people who aren't supportive of the case aren't sad at the loss of three lives?

Who is Karen Ortiz you may ask? Well. I asked. And I googled. It's a common name so it took a little doing but I found her footprints. She was formerly a leader of Ray's Journey Expansion Team or JET. Her name is gone from that defunct web page, but here's a capture showing old text.

Click to Enlarge

As per her profile page on the marketing site ZenZuu, she is also "A KING of the Marketplace" but only on the wide web; not the world wide web, apparently.

Click to Enlarge

The self described KING is currently tearing up the internet marketing world with her site Totally Set  Free. Somehow, she still finds time to pirate people's "undisclosed" email addresses -- which is a little creepy and stalkerish -- in her bid to help Ray's lawyers. But hey, when you're a JET you're a JET all the way...

Update: It turns out prosecutors are collecting emails from people who've had bad experiences with James Ray; an issue Kathy raised here in the comments. This message was posted to Connie Joy's Facebook page.

I just received this note from my cousin: just talked to Wendy Diskin -- Det Diskin's mother. He wants emails from ex-JR peeps, explaining how they've been hurt by James Ray. It does not have to specifically pertain to the 09 sweatlodge. JR's goonies are soliciting letters from people telling how much JR's helped them for the defense to use at the aggravated hearings... Team Sheila wants to have their own stack of emails to fight back.

Do you have contact with any ex-JR peeps who would be willing to send emails? They can be sent to Sheila at ycao@co.yavapai.az.us.

So if you're reading this and you feel you have been adversely affected by your experience with James Ray, it would appear that now is a good time to vent your spleen.

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James Arthur Ray: Guilty Verdicts and Responsibility

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Bob Proctor, he of Secret fame, is putting his mouth front and center in the wake of James Ray's guilty verdict.

"Anybody had the right to leave there (the sweat lodge), and they didn't. Some did," Proctor said. "It was a tragic thing that happened, but I don't think (Ray) should be the one that's held responsible.

Earlier, when he was interviewed on In Session, Proctor allowed that Ray had law of attracted this for some reason. I guess the most generous reading of Proctor's logic is to say that Ray was spiritually responsible but not materially or legally responsible. He attracted this debacle, maybe because he let himself think some unhappy thoughts. Why, oh why, didn't he put on some happy music and chase the negativity from his mind?

In a 2007 interview with Dan Harris James Ray articulated his views on the issue of personal responsibility. He even put the statement on his website.

In an interview, Ray answered about personal responsibility, “I fully know, for me, that there is no blame. Every single thing is your responsibility … and nothing is your fault. Because every single thing that comes to you is gift … a lesson.”

There is nothing new or original in that statement. It's the boilerplate response to the kinds of hard questions Dan Harris has distinguished himself among journalists for asking about the law of attraction philosophy Ray represents. (If you haven't seen his Primetime: Mind Games show on the sweat lodge tragedy, I highly recommend that you take an hour and do so.)

I heard a lot of the same kinds of statements when I was just a whippersnapper in this new age arena. I heard them because I asked the same kinds of questions. The blame the victim implications of law of attraction beliefs never sat right with me. And the kind of response, articulated in that for instance by Ray, has always sounded like so much parsing to me. It's just playing at semantics.

See if you can follow the logic here. Where's my Secret decoder ring... As per Joe Vitale, there are no victims in the Haiti earthquake. The Haitians are responsible because of their negative thoughts. But as per Bob Proctor, James Ray is not responsible for the deaths of three people even though in exchange for their money and volunteered service, he packed them into an "hellacious hot" tent and urged them to "transcend" their feelings of impending death. The self-described master of the lodge proceeded to dismiss concerns called out by people who thought that Kirby Brown and Liz Neuman were in trouble, and said they'd take care of unconscious people after they were done. Then he ordered more heated rocks and poured more buckets of water. And when the ceremony was over and people were running around trying to save lives by dragging people out, calling 911, and performing CPR, Ray cooled himself under a tree, chatted on a cell phone to someone other than 911, and then went back to his room for shower and a sandwich.

I guess you could say he was not responsible... in the sense that he acted totally irresponsibly.

I also think it's interesting that Proctor doesn't just say that Ray isn't responsible. He implies that someone else should be held responsible. I can only assume from the context that he's referring to James Shore, Kirby Brown, and Liz Neuman. After all, they could have left. Others did. And we're right back to the same blame the victim idiocy I've come to expect from adherents of the The Secret. Every one of us is responsible for our own reality and only our own reality. We don't actually have any impact on other people. We're just in our own little worlds, making our own choices, and living with the consequences.

In this case, the choice made by these three was to take Ray at his word and do what he asked of them; what he reminded everyone they had paid for.

I remember years ago, I belonged to a healing circle and one of the leaders did something inappropriate that hurt and angered someone. I don't even remember what it was. He acknowledged his error but explained that it was part of that other person's learning experience that he had drawn to himself. I found that explanation stunning. What kind of spiritual teaching says, Hey, I did you wrong, but you're creating your reality so you need to take responsibility for the wrong I did to you. You're welcome!

Such is the crazy, fun-house mirror world of the new age arena, in which everyone is responsible but the teachers, the leaders, the gurus. And we're only really responsible for the experiences we draw to ourselves; not the wrongs we do to other people.

That's the punchline on Proctor's statement and on Ray's behavior. It doesn't even surprise me. I've seen it all before... except for the gruesome, horrible death part.

How much differently might all of this played out if Ray had taken actual, no kidding responsibility for his actions... and inaction? What if he'd made a plea agreement, admitted his guilt in the sweat lodge deaths, apologized, and made some restitution to the families. This whole thing would have gone a lot easier... on him. He wouldn't have blown through his fortune paying legal fees. He wouldn't have attracted as much media attention. He would not have burned so many bridges with former students or made total enemies of the bereaved.

I have said for years that the fatal flaw of The Secret is that it's all about the glorification of the ego. You can have whatever you want. You can be whatever you want. And it's all through the power of your mind... in other words, the power of your ego.

James Ray is a shining example of what happens when the ego runs completely amok. And he's just crashed and burned on his own grandiosity.

"My feelings on it are James Ray was totally bogus. None of his credentials panned out," [Kim] Brinkley said. "We walked into that sweat lodge believing in his training, paid for his knowledge and wisdom, which was all false. Whether or not he goes to jail, somehow, this will force James Ray to take responsibility."

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James Ray Found Guilty in Sweat Lodge Deaths

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

James Arthur Ray was found guilty on all three counts at the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.

Self-help guru James Arthur Ray was found guilty of negligent homicide Wednesday, nearly two years after three people died in a sweltering sweat lodge for one of his exercises.

The Camp Verde, Ariz., jury, which deliberated for barely a day, chose not to convict Ray of the more serious charge of manslaughter, as the prosecution had urged.

He will remain free on bond at least until the jury addresses "aggravating circumstances" next week. It almost goes without saying that Judge Darrow rejected the most recent mistrial motion, which the defense filed earlier today.

I'm still digesting this. I'm sure I will have much more to say at a later date. For now, I'm just savoring the sweet taste of justice.

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James Ray Trial: In the Hands of the Jury

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

Sheila Polk Delivers Rebuttal

As expected, Sheila Polk's final rebuttal was brilliant. Despite the nearly four hours she had available to her, she took only a couple... and managed to cover more ground than Luis Li did in over six. This is because Polk is a good public speaker, where Li -- and I say this as a former competitive public speaker -- is terrible.

I have much to say about Polk's close but I find that even after two blog posts on the subject, Li's closing argument is still stuck in my craw. I'm actually a little amazed at how much it irritated me. And not just because it was six hours of my life I'll never get back. Upon consideration, I realize that it comes down this: Narcissists really push my buttons. That was one of the most self-indulgent speeches I've ever heard, and I'm including speeches that are intended to be autobiographical.

The Salty Droid put together a great, little video of some of the lowlights. It really underscores the hypocrisy of Li's refrain, "But this isn't about me." Of course it was all about Li and I'm realizing that that has been an observable pattern throughout this trial.

Listening to this, I noticed an aside that I'd previously missed. In his "anecdote" about mountain-climbing, he let slip that he was actually considering putting up a picture of himself climbing Mount McKinley. Truc Do talked him down. She wisely pointed out that to do so would be "cheesy." Gee. Ya think? The man was already drowning in giant, over-sized charts, easels, and the calendar that ate Manhattan, and he wanted to put up a picture of himself climbing a mountain. My guess? It probably would have been actual size.

Who does that? Who, in the midst of a legal argument representing a client who is paying for his counsel, puts up a frigging self-portrait?!!

Wow.

Sadly, his self-indulgence continued today, into Sheila Polk's rebuttal. The objections started ten minutes in. By roughly the half hour mark he was already on the fourth and Polk finally called for a sidebar.

Li Objects to... Something or Other

Objections during closing arguments are rare. Their purpose is to put on the record grounds for appeal and, as we know, this defense team seems to think that nearly everything Sheila Polk says and does creates reversible error.

I think there are really two things at play here and both are irritating. The first is that Li was using objections as part of a continuing attempt to filibuster; to stall for time, throw Polk off her game, and break her momentum. I think he just wanted the jury to be as bored and annoyed by her remarks as they undoubtedly were by his. That is grossly inappropriate during closing arguments.

The second is that Luis Li is absolutely convinced of his own correctness. A clue to that was in his criticism of Michael Hamilton for having his own sense of spiritual truth. As I said before, I find the idea of "objective reality" troubling. But I think he really believes that there is some objective truth... and that he possesses it. It's a strange position for a man who can split a hair as finely as Luis Li. The subtle legal points he makes are not matters of perception or opinion in his world view. They're not debatable. They are matters of fact. Li can take any subtle reading of the law and pronounce it with a self-righteousness usually reserved for holy writ. And when Judge Darrow, himself, disagrees with him, he starts lecturing Judge Darrow.

If Sheila Polk interprets the evidence differently than Li does, she's objectively wrong, it's reversible error, and probably constitutes prosecutorial misconduct. So she was unable to get through her rebuttal without numerous objections and several of sidebars. I don't think there were anymore mistrial motions but, in fairness, I really don't know what was said up at the bench.

Sheila Polk Soldiers On

Even through all that, Polk was brilliant. She again allowed Ray's own words to illustrate his guilt. She interwove segments of his pre-lodge description with the known symptoms of heat related illness, demonstrating the clear correlation. She explained how that circumstantial evidence -- the description of the superheated environment participant were in -- pointed to heatstroke as the cause of illness and death in the sweat lodge.

She then explained that once a person has slipped into unconsciousness, they need to be removed from the heat promptly and cooled or their organs begin to fail.

Polk addressed the issue of the lack of a documented high temperature of 105° that would have convinced the defense's medical expert Dr. Paul that it was heatstroke. She pointed out, again, that in the handful of heatstroke findings in his own career as a medical examiner, he had no documented core temperature. She explained that getting that temperature on the record is not the first priority of doctors dealing with heatstroke patients. Cooling them and saving their lives is. And in the case of the sweat lodge aftermath, people were cooled by hoses, buckets, and the cool air of the October evening.

As she has done throughout her commentary, Polk used the testimony of witnesses to both illustrate and humanize the factual elements of her case.

The defense tried to cast doubt that Liz was hot when she came out of the tent by arguing to you that Dr. Nell Wagoner, the gynecologist from Alaska, had testified that she touched Liz immediately, right after she emerged from the sweat lodge and that she was cold.... It is simply not what the witness, Dr. Wagoner, testified to. She did not testify that she immediately went to Liz and touched her and that she was cold. Here's what Dr. Wagoner testified to. She testified that when this heat event was over she saw four people unconscious in the tent. She told you that she tried to drag a woman out but could not. And she told you that she then assisted in dragging another woman out who was also unconscious and pulled that woman straight out the entrance and left her there.

And, by the way,  remember that Dr. Wagoner testified to her shock at how much hotter the back part of that sweat lodge was as she circled and tried to pull people out. Dr. Wagoner testified that once she was outside, she put the unconscious woman down and turned to the Dream Team members and said there are people unconscious. They can't get out and they need help. Dr. Wagoner described for you how hot and weak she felt, how she laid down in the field about twenty feet from the tent and that someone poured water on her from a container. Dr, Wagoner told you that with the cooler air temperature and that water she, Dr. Wagoner, cooled down quickly and began to feel chilly. Dr. Wagoner testified that at some point she tried to get up and someone told her to stay down and not to get up yet. She told you that somebody else brought her electrolytes to drink. And then Dr. Wagoner told you, then when she was finally ready to get up, someone told her to go to her room.

But at that point she looked around and saw people in distress. That's when Dr. Wagoner testified she saw Liz lying there, close to the tent, with no one tending to her. Dr. Wagoner told you Liz was breathing but would not respond. And finally Dr. Wagoner told you that when she touched Liz her skin was cold. Dr. Wagoner told you that Liz had been hosed down and Dr. Wagoner told you that she was with Liz, she thinks for about thirty minutes before the paramedics arrived.

With this recollection of Dr. Wagoner's comments, Polk established a number of things: that Liz Neuman was wetted down, that it was hotter at the back of the tent, that many people -- including Liz Neuman -- were unconscious and not being properly attended to, that people had plenty of time to cool and lower their body temperature even before the paramedics arrived, and that Luis Li was blatantly misrepresenting testimony in his closing argument.

Polk also took aim at Dr. Paul's claim that dehydration is not part of the diagnostic criteria for heatstroke in any of the medical literature that he, himself, provided.

She spent a good deal of time comparing the two paid experts and Dr. Paul and Dr. Dickson and took the opportunity to explain why the State had hired an expert. This was to address Li's assertion that the State didn't need to hire anyone when their own, government employed experts available to testify. They hired Dr. Dickson, she explained, because the wanted someone to look at all the evidence and form an overview, rather than simply presenting different doctors and Medical Examiners to testify to different cases.

She made the point that Dr. Dickson, because he worked in the extremely hot town of Yuma with all it's industrial farming, was uniquely qualified to speak to both heatstroke and organophosphate poisoning, having treated both. Again, Dr. Dickson was the only medical expert who testified in this case who had actually treated organophosphate exposure. Dr. Paul, on the other hand, being from New Mexico, had seen only 10-12 instances of heat related death, and zero cases of organophosphate poisoning.

Polk walked the jury through how toxidromes were considered and eliminated by the treating physicians and why that rendered the background noise recording of the "EMT" irrelevant. It was speculative and preliminary -- exactly the kind of evidence the defense wants to cherry-pick in this case. But doctors go through a series of eliminations to get to final conclusions and one of the things that was eliminated early on was cholinergic poisons like organophosphates. Also eliminated were anti-cholinergics. Those determinations were made based on the clinical data and, therefore, no bloodwork or other testing was required to eliminate them. Carbon monoxide was not ruled out clinically, so blood was tested and came back with normal levels of carbon monoxide. She also pointed out that even if there had been a sign of an organophosphate-like toxidrome, Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies referred to by Do and and by Dr. Paul explains that there is no really good blood test for them.

She also pointed out that the defense's claim that the State had not kept blood samples for testing was flat-out wrong. Those samples were preserved and available to the defense had they chosen to run tests, which they did not.

Dr. Paul, Polk reminded the jury, did not even include the organophosphate theory in his report. It only came up near the beginning of the trial and the State immediately acted to get testing done and when they learned those tests couldn't be counted on, the immediately informed the defense of that as well.

In what was easily my favorite moment in her discussion of Dr. Paul and the organophosphate theory, she invoked Do's "outlier" comments to Dr. Dickson.

This is not fifth grade. This is not medicine by peer pressure.

Having eviscerated the organophosphate, "look-away" defense strategy, Polk returned to the extreme heat as the cause of death. She reminded the jury that they'd heard testimony demonstrating that it was only at James Ray's sweat lodge ceremonies that illness occurred. This was true no matter what structure was used. Other sweat lodges were conducted at Angel Valley in the same structures and there were no reports of illness.

Polk discussed Jennifer Hayley's testimony that she didn't feel her dreams would come true because she hadn't been able to endure those temperatures for the duration of the sweat lodge. And she recalled Beverly Bunn's testimony that she believed Ray, with all his experience, knew better than she how much heat she could endure when he intimidated her out of leaving the sweat lodge.

She described Melinda Martin's horror from the very first round at what was unfolding. Those who had been acculturated to Ray's way of doing things actively discouraged her from showing her distress, telling her to wipe that look off her face. But Martin set about trying to help the people as they left the tent early on, some collapsing from the heat.

She recalled Dennis Mehravar's screams that he was dying and Ray's assurances that he was not. Less than hour later, she pointed out, two people were dead.

She described testimony about someone named who Carlos who nearly staggered into the rock pit but was stopped by other participants. Lou Caci, of course, was not so lucky.

Polk addressed directly a number of Li's false assertions about the prosecution. "I never thought I would find myself having to defend the fact that I'm a working county attorney, so I'm just gonna leave that one alone," she said.

From there she moved to the "secret meeting" and she did a decent job of demystifying the State's position and explaining that the defense had received all of the information from that meeting. There was an objection and another sidebar which muddied the water a bit on that but at least she was able to address it with some degree of frankness.

She reminded the jury that life is not an episode of CSI and that, while Det. Diskin had not talked with Dawn Sy about her lab results, he had talked to her boss. She also reminded them that, far from avoiding Sy's testimony, they'd had her in the hall at one point waiting to testify for the State. 

Polk also called bullshit on the defense's repeated references to cults. She pointed out that prosecutors have never used the word cult. The defense has done so repeatedly, starting with Li's opening argument and finally in his closing. Here's why that's hilarious. The defense successfully blocked cult expert Rick Ross from testifying for the State. Now, Ross's testimony was never intended to be about Ray running a full-blown cult. He was, no doubt, going to discuss the cult-like elements of LGATs. (Large Group Awareness Trainings) He probably would have gotten into issues of abuse of authority and the way people's defenses were broken down through food and sleep deprivation. Even if he had testified, the defense's argument with the idea that participants were "part of a cult" would have been a straw man. As he was not able to testify it ends up looking like a complete fabrication on their part. Explained Polk:

You never heard the State talk about cults. This is not a case about cults. This is a case about a man, James Ray, who marketed himself as a qualified professional who charged $10,000 for a five day event, not including room and board, and then recklessly caused the deaths of the participants who trusted he knew what he was doing. And who reasonably relied on him to keep them safe.

In the course of her rebuttal, Polk reminded the jury of numerous opportunities Ray had to be a responsible professional running an event and how he squandered them all. From early on when Ami Grimes was dragged unconscious from the tent he could have stopped the event to address the impact on people's health. He could have stopped to check when Megan Fredrickson reminded him that he was responsible for the people in the tent. Instead he continued on as someone rolled under the wall of the tent to escape the heat, stopping only to warn people that it was sacriligious. Through all the expressed concerns about people in distress, people passed out, people not breathing, Ray kept going, never stopping to check for himself and determine whether people were actually in peril. He checked neither the people who had left, nor those who were still inside the tent.

Death was not inevitable. And this was not an accident. Mr. Ray had so many opportunities to change the course of his conduct but he did not. And that is why we are here. But for Mr. Ray's conduct the victims would not be dead. 

Polk also addressed Li's outrageous assertion that it was inappropriate for her to have shown the pictures of the three decedents because it was playing to the "sympathy and prejudice" of the jury to talk about the lives that were lost and of their dreams that would never come to pass. In the video above, you can hear him describe his outrage over this even as he proceeds to paint James Ray as the victim in the most dramatic and emotive of terms. "He has a name," said Li, erroneously implying that the prosecutors only referred to him as "the defendant." Yet Li could not bring himself to name Kirby Brown, James Shore, or Liz Neuman. He could only decry the use of their images by prosecutors.

Mr. Li said it was "wrong" for me to leave up photographs of these three victims, when I did my first closing. We are here because three people died needlessly in Mr. Ray's horrific heat endurance challenge. We are here because Mr. Ray recklessly caused their deaths. And, yes, I am going to remind you of why we are here. These three people, looking to improve their lives trusted that for $10,000 Mr. Ray knew what he was doing. And they trusted that for $10,000, Mr. Ray would keep him safe, keep them safe, in his sweat lodge event. These three people lay in severe distress in Mr. Ray's sweat lodge while others around them tried to do what they could do to help, while others around them called out to Mr. Ray that they needed help and they needed to get out. These three people lay in Mr. Ray's sweat lodge dying while he continued to add more rocks, more water, and more steam. These three people are the reasons we are here. We are here because but for Mr. Ray's conduct these three individuals, Kirby Brown, James Shore, and Liz Neuman would still be alive. 

What's "wrong" in this case is charging $10,000, telling participants you know what you're doing, telling participants to trust you, and to set aside their own self-preservation instincts and then recklessly, incredibly recklessly, holding this ultimate challenge, this heat event, and in spite of information that people are in distress, unconscious, not breathing, need to get out, continuing to act, continuing to create more of that searing heat and more of that searing steam. That's what's wrong with this case. Mr. Ray's conduct, continuing to introduce that lethal heat with three people down and in distress with his knowledge. We are here ladies and gentlemen because Mr. Ray, because of his conduct. We are here because Mr. Ray intentionally used heat to create this altered mental status and was criminally reckless about the consequences. That is what reckless manslaughter is about. And I ask you again to find the defendant Mr. Ray guilty of all three counts. Thank-you.

The Picture Mr. Li Didn't Want the Jury to See

All information on the trial today comes courtesy CNN's live feed. They not only returned unexpectedly for closing arguments but added exciting, new camera angles. All quotes and paraphrased statements that are not linked to a source document are my best attempt to transcribe material from live broadcasts.

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