Arizona road rage killer to be resentenced after AI victim video shown in court

An Arizona appeals court has quashed Gabriel Horcasitas's sentence for a 2021 road rage killing after an AI-generated video of his victim was shown at sentencing.

Arizona road rage killer's sentence overturned over AI victim video

An Arizona man convicted of shooting dead Christopher Pelkey, 37, during a road rage confrontation in 2021 must be resentenced after an appeals court ruled that an AI-generated video of the victim was improperly shown in court, bbc.co.uk reports.

Gabriel Paul Horcasitas, 55, was found guilty by a jury of killing Pelkey at a red light and sentenced to 10 years in prison. His legal team subsequently appealed, arguing the trial judge should not have permitted the AI video — created by Pelkey's family — to be aired during last year's sentencing hearing.

The Arizona Court of Appeals agreed, ruling on Wednesday that the clip "crossed that line." In its written decision, 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 AI clip. In the video, the AI rendering of Pelkey 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 version of Pelkey said. "In another life, we probably could have been friends."

"I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have and I still do," the AI Pelkey continued, depicted wearing a grey baseball cap.

The sentencing judge, Todd Lang, had expressed admiration for the video at the time. "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 representing victims in the case, did not respond to a request for comment. Horcasitas will now face a fresh sentencing hearing.

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)