The letters came streaming in: from battalion brothers who had served alongside Christopher Pelkey in Iraq and Afghanistan, fellow missionaries and even a prom date. A niece and nephew addressed the court.Still, the voice that mattered the most to Pelkey’s older sister, Stacey Wales, would most likely never be heard when it was time for an Arizona judge to sentence the man who killed her brother during a 2021 road rage episode – the victim’s. Wales, 47, had a thought. What if her brother could speak for himself. And what would he tell Gabriel Horcasitas, 54, convicted of manslaughter? The answer came on May 1, when a likeness of her brother appeared on an 80-inch screen, the same one that had previously displayed autopsy photos of Pelkey and footage of his being fatally shot at an intersection in Arizona. It was created with AI. “It is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,” the AI avatar said. “In another life, we probably could have been friends. I believe in forgiveness and in God, who forgives. I always have and I still do.” While AI’s use has spread through society, its use during the sentencing of Horcacitas, who got the maximum 10 and a half years in prison, appeared to be uncharted. Critics said the introduction of AI in legal proceedings could open the door to manipulation and deception.One thing was certain: The nearly four-minute video made a favourable impression on the judge. “I loved that AI,” judge Todd Lang said.“Thank you for that. And as angry as you are, and justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness. And I know Horcasitas appreciated it, but so did I.” The video opened with a disclaimer. “Hello, just to be clear, for everyone seeing this, I am a version of Chris Pelkey recreated through AI that uses my picture and voice profile… I was able to be digitally regenerated to share with you today.” Wales had been preparing her victim’s impact statement for two years, but it was missing a critical element. “I kept hearing what Chris would say.” She enlisted the help of her husband and their business partner, who had used AI to help corporate clients with presentations. They took Pelkey’s voice from a video they had found of him speaking after completing treatment for PTSD at a facility for veterans. For his face and torso, they used a poster of Pelkey from a funeral service, digitally trimming his thick beard, removing his glasses and editing out a logo from his cap.Wales said she had written the script read by the AI likeness of her brother. “I know AI can be used nefariously… But this was just another tool used to tell Chris’s story.” A spokeswoman for county attorney said the office was not aware of AI being used. A defence lawyer said it would’ve been difficult to block the video from being shown. “… However, this may be a situation where they just took it too far.”
