Key Takeaways
- An Arizona appeals court tossed Gabriel Paul Horcasitas’ 10-year sentence and ordered resentencing because the judge considered an AI-generated video of the man he killed.
- The video recreated Christopher Pelkey addressing Horcasitas after the fatal 2021 road-rage shooting, saying they “probably could have been friends” and offering forgiveness.
- The court ruled that the recreation reflected Pelkey’s sister’s imagined version of his thoughts rather than his own recorded words, but it left Horcasitas’ manslaughter conviction intact.
An Arizona man convicted of killing another driver in a road rage shooting will be sentenced again after an appeals court ruled that an AI-generated video of his dead victim should not have been considered during sentencing.
Gabriel Paul Horcasitas, 55, was convicted of manslaughter in the 2021 shooting death of 37-year-old Christopher Pelkey following a confrontation at a red light. Horcasitas was later sentenced to 10 years in prison.
His attorneys appealed the sentence, challenging the use of an AI-generated victim impact video created by Pelkey's family and shown in court before Horcasitas received his punishment.
The Arizona Court of Appeals sided with Horcasitas, finding that the video went beyond simply preserving or presenting something Pelkey had said while alive.
"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 appeals court wrote in its ruling, adding that the video "crossed that line."
Pelkey's sister, Stacey Wales, previously said the family created the digital version of her brother using recordings, photos, and videos of him.
The AI recreation appeared in court wearing a gray baseball cap and directly addressed Horcasitas.
"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," it continued.
The video appeared to make an impression on Judge Todd Lang, who presided over Horcasitas' sentencing.
"I loved that AI, thank you for that," Lang said at the time. "As angry as you are, as justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness. I feel that that was genuine."
Horcasitas' appeal attorney, Kristen Reller, declined to comment on the new ruling, while an attorney representing victims in the case did not respond to a request for comment.
The appeals court's decision does not overturn Horcasitas' manslaughter conviction. Instead, his 10-year sentence has been tossed, and he will return to court to be sentenced again.
