Likeness of man killed in road-rage incident gives impact statement at sentencing, thanks to AI
An AI-generated video of a slain man told an Arizona judge last month that he believes in forgiveness, and that in another life, he and the man who killed him “probably could have been friends.”
Judge Todd Lang commented on those moving comments when sentencing Gabriel Paul Horcasitas for manslaughter in the road-rage death of Christopher Pelkey, report KNXV, AZFamily and Fox 10 Phoenix.
The sentence was a year more than sought by prosecutors, according to KNXV.
“I love that AI,” said Lang, a judge in Maricopa County, Arizona. “Thank you for that. I felt like that was genuine; that his obvious forgiveness of Mr. Horcasitas reflects the character I heard about today.”
The video, created by Pelkey’s family, was the first use of AI to create a slain victim’s impact statement in Arizona and possibly the nation, according to KNXV.
Police had alleged that the shooting happened in November 2021 after an altercation between Pelkey and Horcasitas that began while they were driving. At a stoplight, Pelkey got out of his vehicle and approached Horcasitas, who then fired a gun multiple times, KPNX reports.
Pelkey’s sister, Stacey Wales, created the AI video with her husband and a friend. In an interview with Fox 10 Phoenix, she said she had opinions about whether she forgave the shooter.
“But it was important not to make Chris say what I was feeling and to detach and let him speak because he said things that would never come out of my mouth, but I know would come out his,” she said.
Wales said creating the video was not a simple process.
“There’s no tool out there that you can just go and say: Here’s a voice file. Here’s a picture. Please make it come to life,” she told Fox 10 Phoenix. “So they’re scrounging and using this tool and that tool and this tool and this script and this audio and this image and trying to mash it all together and make a Frankenstein of love.”
The group included real video clips and a photo that Pelkey took of himself with a filter to show himself in old age.
“This is the best I can ever give you of what I would have looked like if I got the chance to grow old,” said the AI-generated Pelkey in the video. “Remember, getting old is a gift that not everybody has, so embrace it, and stop worrying about those wrinkles.”
AZFamily spoke with Gary Marchant, a professor at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and a member of an Arizona Supreme Court committee that is evaluating the use of AI in courts.
“If you look at the facts of this case, I would say that the value of [AI] overweighed the prejudicial effect. But if you look at other cases, you could imagine where they would be very prejudicial,” Marchant said.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
