An Arizona road rage killer will be resentenced after an appeals court ruled that an AI-generated video message from his dead victim was improperly aired in court.
Gabriel Paul Horcasitas was found guilty of shooting and killing Christopher Pelkey, 37, during a confrontation at a red light in 2021. He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars.
Horcasitas’ legal team appealed, arguing the trial judge should not have allowed an AI video created by Pelkey’s family to be shown ahead of sentencing in 2025.
The Arizona Court of Appeals agreed, ruling Horcasitas must be resentenced because the AI clip “crossed that line.”
“Rather than document an event or recording a particular moment, the AI video presents a depiction of the victim and his thoughts created from the imaginings of the victim’s sister,” the court wrote.
Pelkey’s sister Stacey Wales told the BBC the family used voice recordings, videos, and pictures to recreate him. The AI version of Pelkey addressed Horcasitas: “It is a shame we encountered each other that day… In another life, we probably could have been friends. I believe in forgiveness.”
At sentencing, Judge Todd Lang said: “I loved that AI, thank you for that… I heard the forgiveness. I feel that that was genuine.”
Horcasitas’ lawyer Kristen Reller declined to comment. Attorney for victims Jessica Gattuso did not respond to requests for comment.