Arizona Appeals Court Vacates 10-Year Manslaughter Sentence Over AI-Generated Victim Video
The Arizona Court of Appeals ordered Gabriel Paul Horcasitas to be resentenced in the 2021 shooting death of Christopher Pelkey, ruling that an AI-generated video of the victim shown at the sentencing hearing was unreliable and improperly presented the victim's imagined thoughts as his own.
The Arizona Court of Appeals has thrown out a 10-year manslaughter sentence after finding that an artificial intelligence-generated video of the deceased victim, played during the sentencing hearing, was not reliable enough to support the punishment. The three-judge panel ruled that Gabriel Paul Horcasitas must be resentenced in the 2021 shooting death of Christopher Pelkey, concluding that the AI footage crossed a legal line by presenting statements as if they came directly from the victim rather than documenting any actual event.
In a decision released Wednesday, the court wrote that the video did not reflect real events and instead offered a depiction of the victim and his thoughts «created from the imaginings of the victim's sister.» The ruling marks what is believed to be the first time a U.S. court has addressed the use of AI to generate a victim impact statement, a development that raises fresh questions about how synthetic media should be treated in judicial proceedings.
The case stems from a November 2021 road rage encounter at a stoplight in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix. Authorities say Horcasitas, 55, fatally shot Pelkey, 37, after Pelkey got out of his truck and walked toward Horcasitas' vehicle. Pelkey was unarmed. Horcasitas was convicted of manslaughter in Pelkey's death and of endangerment for a gunshot that struck another vehicle at the intersection during the confrontation.
During a May 2025 sentencing hearing, nine of Pelkey's family members and friends addressed the judge, describing their emotional devastation. Then the AI-generated video was played. In it, a rendering of Pelkey said he wished he could still be with his friends and family, voiced a belief in forgiveness, and said it was a shame Horcasitas had encountered him because «in another life, we probably could have been friends.» The video did not request a specific prison sentence.
Pelkey's sister, Stacey Wales, came up with the idea of having her brother speak for himself after struggling to decide what he would say. She said she expected an appeal of the sentence but was disappointed that the AI video was cited as the reason for it. «It feels unfair because there is a convicted murderer sitting in prison that has blankets and walls of protection around their rights. Where are the rights for the victim?» Wales said. A victim appeals lawyer has told the family that using AI again could result in another appeal. «We will continue to let his voice be heard in whatever allowable medium we can convey that through the court system,» Wales said.
Horcasitas' appellate lawyer, Kristen Reller, argued that Superior Court Judge Todd Lang violated due process protections by relying on AI evidence and that her client had no meaningful opportunity to rebut the video's contents. Reller told the appeals court that the footage did not disclose who wrote the words used by the AI version of Pelkey and was not backed by evidence establishing that its contents accurately reflected his views. She also said it carried an «undue emotional weight» and conveyed an authenticity that would not have been present had a family member read the same words aloud.
Prosecutors and Jessica Gattuso, an attorney who represented victims in the case, told the appeals court that the lower-court judge did not err, saying the footage was an accurate representation of Pelkey's character. They argued that Lang did not consider the video when issuing the punishment. Shortly before delivering the sentence, the judge commented that he «loved that AI» but did not say from the bench whether the video factored into his decision. Lang said he felt Pelkey's «obvious forgiveness of Mr. Horcasitas reflects the character I heard about today.»
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office said in a statement Thursday that its prosecutors knew the victim's family would address the court during sentencing but were not aware of the nature of the presentation. Attorneys for Pelkey's family said in court records that Arizona law does not require victims to disclose statements they plan to make in court to prosecutors, defense attorneys or the judge, and that victims can exercise their rights by speaking before the court or submitting written, audio or video statements.
The use of AI within the court system has been expanding, but it has typically been reserved for administrative tasks, legal research and case preparation. In Arizona, it has helped inform the public of rulings in significant cases. Using AI to generate victim impact statements, however, marks a new tool for sharing information with the court outside the evidentiary phases. Neither Reller nor Gattuso commented Thursday on the decision.
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