Watch CBS News

Self-Help Author Drops Request For Indigent Status

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — A self-help author imprisoned for the deaths of three people following an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony no longer is seeking indigent status.

James Arthur Ray is appealing his conviction on three counts of negligent homicide and his 2-year prison sentence.

Ray had claimed that he's $11 million in debt and could not afford copies of court documents he needs on appeal. But his attorneys dropped the request for financial aid last week, saying they've arranged for payment.

Prosecutors had pressed Ray's attorneys to prove that the man who once boasted a multimillion self-help business is broke.

Kirby Brown, of Westtown, N.Y., James Shore, of Milwaukee, and Liz Neuman, of Prior Lake, Minn., died following the 2009 ceremony Ray led near Sedona.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.