( CNN ) -- A judge sentenced a self-help expert to a total of two years in prison Friday for his role in the deaths of three people in a 2009 sweat lodge ceremony in the Arizona desert . Prosecutors had sought consecutive three-year sentences for James Arthur Ray on each of the three counts of negligent homicide on which a jury convicted him . The judge instead imposed three two-year terms , to be served concurrently . Ray and his attorneys asked for probation , but Judge Warren R. Darrow said the evidence shows `` extreme negligence on the part of Mr . Ray . '' `` A prison sentence is just mandated in this case , '' he said . During the trial , prosecutors argued that Ray 's recklessness 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 . At least 15 others who took part in the sweat lodge ceremony became ill . 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 , prosecutors alleged . They also said Ray did n't monitor the temperature inside the lodge or the well-being of participants and was indifferent to those having trouble . Ray 's lawyers countered that the deaths were the result of 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 did n'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 . Ray tearfully told the court that he has `` no excuse '' for what happened that October day or since . `` At the end of the day , I lost three friends , and I lost them on my watch , '' he said . `` And whatever errors in judgment or mistakes I made , I 'm going to have to live with those for the rest of my life . '' Ray asked Darrow to sentence him to probation , saying he is no threat to society and promising never to conduct another sweat lodge ceremony again . `` It pains me beyond belief to be here today , with the best of intentions gone wrong , '' he said . Before Darrow announced his judgment , prosecutor Sheila Polk characterized Ray as a dangerous `` pretender '' who had cast himself as a victim of an overzealous prosecution . And relatives of the victims told Darrow that Ray has done little to redeem himself and that he deserved the maximum possible sentence of nine years in prison . `` My heart 's been ripped out . My life has been blown apart , and the pieces are yet to land , '' said Virginia Brown , Kirby Brown 's mother .
Judge Arthur Ray is sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison . Three people died in prison after hours in torture led by Ray . ` ` My heart 's been ripped out , '' one victim 's mother says at sentencing hearing .