Q: In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
(CNN) -- Self-help guru James Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide in the deaths of three participants in an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony, but he was found not guilty of manslaughter charges. 
  
 The case will continue June 28, when the jury will convene to make a decision regarding aggravating circumstances in the case. 
  
 Prosecutors claimed that Ray's recklessness in operating the sweat lodge 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. 
  
 Sweat lodge ends a free spirit's quest 
  
 They died after participating in a the ceremony organized and led by Ray in 2009. 
  
 At least 15 others who took part in the sweat lodge ceremony became ill. More than 40 others were uninjured. 
  
 Prosecutors argued that 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. They also said Ray didn't monitor the temperature inside the lodge or the well-being of participants and was indifferent to those clearly having trouble. 
  
 Ray's lawyers countered that what happened was 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. 
  
 Event participants paid up to $10,000 to seek "new areas of consciousness" at the October 2009 Spiritual Warrior retreat in the desert, according to trial testimony. Many had attended previous James Ray International seminars. ||||| A self-help author who led a deadly sweat lodge ceremony in Arizona was found guilty of three counts of negligent homicide Wednesday. 
  
 In this image provided by the Shore family, James Shore is seen with his wife Alyssa Gillespie. James Shore was one of three people who died while participating in a sweat lodge ceremony on Oct. 8, 2009,... (Associated Press) 
  
 James Arthur Ray, left, and his attorney, Thomas Kelly, right, stand in the courtroom of Judge Warren R. Darrow, in the Yavapai County Courthouse in Camp Verde, Ariz., Wednesday, June 22, 2011. The sweat... (Associated Press) 
  
 FILE - In this April 20, 2011 photo, James Arthur Ray listens to testimony during his trial in Campe Verde, Ariz. Jurors on Tuesday, June 21, 2011, began deliberating the fate of James Arthur Ray,... (Associated Press) 
  
 This April 2008 photo provided by the family of Kirby Brown shows the 38-year-old woman from Westtown, N.Y. Brown was one of two people who died after being overcome in a sauna-like sweat lodge during... (Associated Press) 
  
 This undated photo provided by the Neuman family shows Liz Neuman. Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake suffered multiple organ damage and was in a coma before she died Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 at a Flagstaff hospital.... (Associated Press) 
  
 James Arthur Ray, left, and his defense attorney, Luis Li, leave Yavapai County Superior Court on a lunch break Wednesday, June 22, 2011 in Campe Verde, Ariz. Jurors have returned for another day of... (Associated Press) 
  
 Judge Warren R. Darrow addresses the jury after listening to Yavapai county attorney Sheila Polk conclude her rebuttal argument during the trial of James Arthur Ray on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 in Camp Verde,... (Associated Press) 
  
 James Arthur Ray, right, and defense attorney Luis Li, left, listen to Yavapai county attorney Sheila Polk give her rebuttal arguments during the trial of James Arthur Ray on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 in... (Associated Press) 
  
 Jurors in the case against James Arthur Ray began deliberating Tuesday after a four-month trial. 
  
 Ray showed no reaction as the verdict was read. His parents and brother sat behind him, while victims' family members and friends held hands and looked on from across the courtroom. 
  
 Prosecutors asked that Ray be taken into custody immediately, but the judge denied the request. 
  
 More than 50 people participated in the October 2009 sweat lodge that was meant to be the highlight of Ray's five-day "Spiritual Warrior" seminar near Sedona. 
  
 Three people died following the sauna-like ceremony meant to provide spiritual cleansing. Eighteen were hospitalized, while several others were given water to cool down at the scene. Prosecutors and defense attorneys disagreed over whether the deaths and illnesses were caused by heat or toxins. 
  
 Ray's attorneys have maintained the deaths were a tragic accident. Prosecutors argued Ray recklessly caused the fatalities. 
  
 Ray used the sweat lodge as a way for participants to break through whatever was holding them back in life. He warned participants in a recording of the event played during the trial that the sweat lodge would be "hellacious" and that participants were guaranteed to feel like they were dying but would do so only metaphorically. 
  
 "The true spiritual warrior has conquered death and therefore has no fear or enemies in this lifetime or the next, because the greatest fear you'll ever experience is the fear of what? Death," Ray said in the recording. "You will have to get a point to where you surrender and it's OK to die." 
  
 Witnesses have described the scene following the two-hour ceremony as alarming and chaotic, with people dragging "lifeless" and "barely breathing" participants outside and volunteers performing CPR. 
  
 Two participants died upon arrival at a hospital. Another slipped into a coma and died more than a week later at a Flagstaff hospital. 
  
 In court Wednesday, members of Neuman's family and a friend of Brown held hands while the verdict was read. 
  
 Ray's attorneys maintained the deaths were nothing but a tragic accident, and said Ray took all the necessary precautions to ensure participants' safety. They contend authorities botched the investigation and failed to consider that toxins or poisons contributed to the deaths and called two witnesses to support that argument. 
  
 Prosecutors relied heavily on Ray's own words to try to convince the jury that he was responsible for the deaths. They said a reasonable person would have stopped the "abomination of a sweat lodge" when participants began exhibiting signs of distress about halfway through the ceremony. 
  
 Sweat lodges typically are used by American Indians to rid the body of toxins by pouring water over heated rocks in the structure. 
  
 Ray became a self-help superstar by using his charismatic personality and convincing people his words would lead them to spiritual and financial wealth. He used free talks to recruit people to expensive seminars like the Sedona retreat that led to the sweat lodge tragedy. Participants paid up to $10,000 for the five-day program intended to push people beyond their physical and emotional limits. 
  
 Ray's popularity soared after appearing in the 2006 Rhonda Byrne documentary "The Secret," and Ray promoted it on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Larry King Live." 
  
 But his multimillion-dollar self-help empire was thrown into turmoil with the sweat lodge deaths. Ray ended his seminars shortly after but has continued to offer advice throughout his trial via the Internet and social networking sites. |||||
A:
A self-help author has been convicted of negligent homicide in the deaths of three people who attended one of his sweat lodge seminars. Jurors, however, acquitted James Arthur Ray of more serious manslaughter charges in the 2009 deaths in Arizona, reports CNN. The victims died in what Ray characterized as a spiritual cleansing ceremony, and another 15 people fell ill. Prosecutors used Ray's own words against him, playing a recording of him warning participants that the sweat lodge would be "hellacious," notes AP. It would feel like they were dying, but they had to battle through it to become a true "spiritual warrior," he said in the recording. "You will have to get a point to where you surrender and it's OK to die." It's not clear yet how much jail time the best-selling author might face. Another phase of the trial resumes June 28.