Court tosses 10-year manslaughter sentence due to an AI-generated video of the victim ‘created from the imaginings’ of his sister

The Arizona Court of Appeals has overturned a 10-year manslaughter sentence for Gabriel Paul Horcasitas, after ruling the video featuring his victim, Christopher Pelkey, generated by artificial intelligence was unreliable and did not accurately represent the events of the 2021 road rage shooting. The three-judge panel found the AI-generated video, which featured Pelkey speaking from beyond the grave, to be a depiction of the victim created from the imaginings of his sister, and not a factual account of what transpired.

The video was presented during a sentencing hearing where Horcasitas was convicted of manslaughter and endangerment for a shooting that left Pelkey, who was unarmed, dead. According to the court, the AI video presented Pelkey's thoughts and feelings without reflecting a true event, and thus, failed to adhere to the standards of due process.

The leading lawyer for the victim's family, Jessica Gattuso, expressed disappointment with the court's decision, emphasizing the importance of humanizing her brother for the judge instead of using AI to create a fabricated impact statement. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office acknowledged they were aware of the family's intention to address the court during sentencing but were not aware of the nature of the AI-generated video.