Arizona road rage killer to be resentenced after AI victim video ruled improper
An Arizona appeals court has quashed Gabriel Horcasitas's 10-year sentence after an AI-generated video of his victim was shown at sentencing. He must now be resentenced.
Arizona court overturns sentence tied to AI victim video
An Arizona man convicted of fatally shooting another driver during a 2021 road rage incident must be resentenced, after an appeals court ruled that an AI-generated video of his dead victim was improperly shown in court, bbc.com reports.
Gabriel Paul Horcasitas, 55, was found guilty of shooting Christopher Pelkey, 37, during a confrontation at a red light. A judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison following a sentencing hearing last year at which Pelkey's family presented the AI video.
The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled this week that the clip "crossed that line." In its written ruling, issued on Wednesday, the court stated: "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."
Pelkey's sister, Stacey Wales, told the BBC last year that the family had used voice recordings, videos and photographs to recreate him for the video. In the clip, an AI version of Pelkey — shown wearing a grey baseball cap — addressed his killer directly in court.
"To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances," the AI rendition said. "In another life, we probably could have been friends."
The AI version of Pelkey also said: "I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have and I still do."
The presiding judge, Todd Lang, had responded warmly to the video at the time of sentencing. "I loved that AI, thank you for that. As angry as you are, as justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness," Lang said. "I feel that that was genuine."
Horcasitas's lawyer, Kristen Reller, who filed the appeal, declined to comment. Jessica Gattuso, an attorney for victims in the case, did not respond to a request for comment. Horcasitas will now face a new sentencing hearing.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)