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Injured Sweat Lodge Participant Resumes Testimony

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. (AP) -- A man who burned his arm during an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony resumes testimony Thursday in the trial of a self-help author whom he had known for nearly 20 years.

Lou Caci says he became delirious about halfway through the two-hour ceremony, burned his arm in a pile of heated rocks in the center of the sweat lodge and left. He returned to finish the last of eight rounds.

He says James Arthur Ray never checked on his injuries.

Three people died following the ceremony held at a retreat Ray rented near Sedona in October 2009. Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter.

Ray's attorneys say the deaths were a tragic accident, not a crime.

Prosecutors say Ray recklessly caused the deaths.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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