The trial is currently in recess until May 26th. There have already been six (or was that seven?) mistrial motions --denied-- put forward by the defence.
The various alternative excuses/responsible causes have been exhaustively aired by the defence and are summarised here by Omikse:
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saltydroid.info]
'…rat poison, ant poison, weed killers, veggie diets, tainted water, tainted fruits, tainted vegetables, tainted soil, tainted rocks, wood with nails, wood without nails, pressure treated wood, wood sealer, poor construction practices, no building permit, no building inspection, CO2, poor ventilation, organophosphates, the victims failure to exercise their ‘free will’, Ted Mercer’s running of the lodge,'and shown to be bullshit by a very smart and patient medic witness, Dr Dixon.
'the victims failure to exercise their ‘free will’was rubbished by both Debbie Mercer and her daughter Sara, witnesses who, while tending to the unconscious and dying participants, realised that unconscious and dying people are in no state at all to exercise free will and get up and leave a deadly sweat-tent.
'Ted Mercer’s running of the lodge,'......is a bit of a masterstroke, as it reveals that when JAR was first questioned at the scene (he was in his shorts, in his cabin, eating a late lunch while the death and destruction he left behind him was being dealt with by his remaining paying customers who were still, luckily, able to breathe) he claimed that it was Ted Mercer, the casual, hired-for-the-day fire-tenderer who was running the sweat-tent, not the self-proclaimed Alpha and Omega, god-of-all-he-surveyed, James Arthur Ray.
Yakaru supplied the link (on the Droid's site) to the evidence statement of Sergeant Frank Barbaro, the policeman who first interviewed DeathRay at the scene and first heard the remarkable news that, despite DeathRay banking the profits, Ted Mercer--the man hired for the day to burn some logs-- was the real person who was responsible for the running of the DeathTent:
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www.tragedyinsedona.com]
DeathRay's teaching was all about taking responsibility for one's own life, actions and behaviour.
Shame he doesn't demonstrate those qualities himself.
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2011 05:07PM by Stoic.