MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WTAQ) - Self-help guru James Arthur Ray pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges connected with 3 deaths at a sweat lodge ceremony he led in Arizona. A Milwaukee man, 40-year-old James Shore, was one of the victims. Ray is charged with 3 counts of manslaughter, after 3 people died and 18 others were hospitalized in the sweat lodge near Sedona. It happened last October during a ceremony that was part of a 5-day “Spiritual Warrior” event put on by Ray.

The defendant was quiet throughout Thursday’s court proceeding, as attorney Thomas Kelly did most of the talking. Kelly said it was a terrible accident, but it was not a crime. And he said Ray’s $5 million bond was, “unconscionable.” Kelly asked that it be lowered, and Judge Warren Darrow will hold a hearing on the request as early as next week.