flaps and people were free to leave, come and go. some people wanted to quickly exit and one of the things i told them in the setup was to go out clockwise carefully because obviously there s a pit of hot rocks in the center. reporter: the punishing heat generated by water poured over a pit of hot rocks sent 21 overcome people rushing for help. i had systems in place and the systems broke down. reporter: now a free man, he didn t rule out returning to the self-help industry but this time, more humbled than before. was i arrogant? yes. people fly in all over the world and asking me how to have a better life. and it tends to go to your head. you tend to think you ve got all the answers. reporter: ray also says he lost everything because of the tragedy. if he does return to the self-help industry he insists he has no intention of ever participating in another sweat lodge ceremony again. i know he says he wants to return to the industry but the family of the victims here are
Transcripts for CNN Piers Morgan Live 20131126 05:15:15 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
like attracts, like, and as you lock your attention on that, then another particle is attracted, and another is attracted, and bang, you got a mercedes. or boom, you got a moped! and that is how it works. this is science. what are you creating? what are you creating? that was james ray in his prime in 2008, months later a sweat lodge ceremony he led for what he called spiritual warriors, left three people dead. ray, with the oprah seal of approval, spent 20 months behind bars, and tonight for the first time he is telling his story, live and exclusively. so james, your career was rocketing, you appeared on
days. great to see you. thanks, kate. happy thanksgiving, everybody. thank you. thank you very much. you can get a behind the scenes look at another very busy airport, atlanta s hartsfield jackson digital project, atl24. see it right now on cnn.com atl24. next on new day, what s the real story about obama care? is it about affordable care or is it a nightmare? we re taking an inside look at two test cases which you really should see in forming an opinion. james ray, once a famous motivational speaker, now that excon for that deadly sweat lodge ceremony. he s telling his side of that terrible night. what did he think will happen? is he truly sorry? an interview you ll only see on cnn. lindsided by limits card. it s the no-game-playing, no-earning-limit-having,
a jury convicted ray of negligent homicide after a deadly sweat lodge ceremony in 2009. three people died during the spiritual retreat near is he don tna, arizona. the victims paid some $10,000 apiece to attend that survivors describing one activity where ray played god, complete with a white robe. all leading up to two hour ceremony inside that steamy sweat lodge. before it was even halfway over, investigators say victims were throwing up, struggling to breathe, and others dead. the victim families addressing the court today with their impact statements. some left speechless with emotion. [gavel pounding] there was nothing, nothing you could teach about honor, integrity and that they could have taught you a lot. my daughter did not choose to go unconscious in a tent at an event that mr. ray ran.