PHOENIX, ARIZONA — In an emotional and unprecedented moment, the family of Chris Pelkey used artificial intelligence to deliver a victim impact statement during the sentencing of Gabriel Horcasitas, the man convicted of killing Pelkey in a road rage shooting three years ago.
The AI-generated message featured a digital recreation of Pelkey’s voice and likeness, built using past recordings, photos, and videos. The statement, written by Pelkey’s sister, Stacey Wales, reflected what she believed her brother—a man known for his kindness and deep faith—would have said if he were alive.
“To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,” said the AI-rendered version of Pelkey, appearing in a grey baseball cap on courtroom screens.
“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.”
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Todd Lang, who presided over the sentencing, responded with emotion to the use of the technology.
“I loved that AI, thank you for that,” he said. “As angry as you are, as justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness. I feel that that was genuine.”
Horcasitas was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison on manslaughter charges.
Paul Grimm, a retired federal judge and current professor at Duke Law School, said he wasn’t surprised by the use of AI, pointing out that Arizona courts already use the technology in various forms, such as summarizing complex Supreme Court decisions for public consumption.
Since the video was shown only after the jury had reached a verdict, legal experts say its use did not violate courtroom procedures. However, ethicists warn about the implications of using AI to represent deceased individuals.
“If we have other people doing this moving forward, are we always going to get fidelity to what the person, the victim in this case, would’ve wanted?” asked Derek Leben, a business ethics professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
Stacey Wales defended the decision, saying their family was guided by morals and respect for her brother’s memory.
“We approached this with ethics and morals because this is a powerful tool,” she said. “Just like a hammer can be used to break a window or rip down a wall, it can also be used as a tool to build a house—and that’s how we used this technology.”
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