Posted on 05/10/2025 1:22:01 PM PDT by xxqqzz
Christopher Pelkey was killed in a road rage incident in Chandler in 2021, but last month, artificial intelligence brought him back to life during his killer’s sentencing hearing.
It was the first time in Arizona judicial history — and possibly nationwide — that AI has been used to create a deceased victim’s own impact statement.
The video player is currently playing an ad. Pelkey’s sister and brother-in-law used the technology to recreate his image and voice likeness to “talk” to the courtroom about his life and the day he met Gabriel Paul Horcasitas, who shot him during a confrontation near Gilbert and Germann roads.
“In another life, we probably could have been friends,” the AI creation of the 37-year-old Army veteran said, addressing Horcasitas. “I believe in forgiveness…”
The AI video also included real video clips from videos taken while he was alive, along with some of his personality and humor, while showing a real photo he once took with an "old age" filter.
"This is the best I can ever give you of what I would have looked like if I got the chance to grow old," the AI version of Pelkey said. "Remember, getting old is a gift that not everybody has, so embrace it and stop worrying about those wrinkles."
Stacey Wales, Pelkey's sister, said everyone who knew Pelkey "agreed this capture was a true representation of the spirit and soul of how Chris would have thought about his own sentencing as a murder victim."
(Excerpt) Read more at abc15.com ...
I would not convict if a juror and this was used.
This is a horrible idea. We should face our accuser, not a computer simulation.
It’s a Victim Impact Statement which is given generally after conviction, prior to sentencing.
Ghastly idea.
I think the victim is dead. The sister did it.
More power to the victim’s family. Screw the killer. Time for law and order in this country.
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