A U.S. Army veteran who was murdered in a road rage incident appeared in court more than three years after he died in an AI-generated image as part of a victim impact statement, reportedly the first time such technology has been used in a U.S. court.
The image of Christopher Pelkey, who served three tours before he was shot to death by Gabriel Paul Horcasitas on November 13, 2021, at a red light, appeared in court earlier this month using words written by his sister, Stacey Wales, who spent two years working on the victim impact statement.
Wales and her husband, Tim, created the AI-generated video, in which the image of Pelkey expressed forgiveness for the killer, saying, “It is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances. In another life, we probably could have been friends.”
“The only thing that kept entering my head that I kept hearing was Chris and what he would say,” Wales told CNN. “I had to very carefully detach myself in order to write this on behalf of Chris because what he was saying is not necessarily what I believe, but I know it’s what he would think.” She added that Pelkey was “the most forgiving and the friendliest” member of their family.
Although the state had asked for a sentence of 9.5 years for Horcasitas on the charge of manslaughter, Judge Todd Lang of Maricopa County Superior Court sentenced Pelkey’s killer to 10.5 years.
Judge Lang said after the video was shown: “I love that AI. Thank you for that. As angry as you are and justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness.”
Horcasitas’s lawyer, Jason Lamm, said he had not been informed that the video would be shown. “It appears that the judge gave some weight to the AI video and that is an issue that will likely be pursued on appeal,” he said.
Wales’ 14-year-old son told her, “Thank you so much for making that. I needed to see and hear from Uncle Chris one more time.”
