A man convicted of manslaughter will face a new sentencing hearing after a court ruled that an AI-generated video shown during his original sentencing “crossed” a line, according to ABC News.

On Sept. 30, 2026, a three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals upheld Gabriel Paul Horcasitas’ conviction for the November 2021 fatal shooting of Christopher Pelkey during a road rage incident. But his 10.5-year sentence passed down in May 2025 was overturned.

The video at the center of the controversy — created by Pelkey’s sister, Stacey Wales — features Pelkey’s likeness and voice as an avatar and portrays him speaking about forgiveness. “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,” Pelkey’s avatar said in the video, per ABC.

The Incident At The Center Of Arizona’s AI Controversy

During the May 2025 hearing, Judge Todd Lang said he “loved” the AI-generated video and believed it was genuine before sentencing Horcasitas, ABC reports. However, the appeals court found that the judge’s reliance on the video compromised the fairness of the sentencing process, prompting the panel to overturn the sentence and order a new hearing, per the outlet.

“It erases the interpretive distance between the family’s belief about what the victim would have said and the victim’s own voice and opinions,” the appellate judges said of the video. “Indeed, the AI victim stated, ‘This here is a true representation of who I was, you know, not how the courtroom portrayed me.’ No disclaimer could cure that error.”

At the time of the original sentencing, prosecutors said they knew Pelkey’s next of kin would make a presentation to the court but were unaware of what it would contain, ABC notes.

The Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office didn’t comment on the appellate court’s decision, the outlet reports.

Wales, who wrote the script for the AI-generated video, told ABC she stands by the decision to create the video, saying she wanted her brother to be heard. She also said she plans to return to court for Horcasitas’ resentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

“Chris did not have a chance to speak because he was permanently silenced and our chance to do so for him was thwarted,” Wales said, ABC reports.

Concerns Over AI-Generated Evidence In Court

The case comes amid growing concerns about AI-generated evidence and its potential to undermine public trust in the courts. According to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), public concerns about AI’s impact on the legal system are growing as increasingly realistic fabricated content becomes easier and cheaper to produce.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby told an ABC affiliate that litigants may worry whether judges can recognize AI-altered evidence and understand its potential impact on their cases, NCSC notes.

While AI offers potential benefits to the legal system, detection tools continue to struggle to keep pace with increasingly realistic content that continues to advance. Courts and policymakers are responding with various measures, including guidance published by the National Center for State Courts to help judges evaluate AI-generated evidence. One such measure is Proposed Rule of Evidence 707, which would hold AI-generated evidence to the same strict standards as expert testimony.