Arizona House Passes Bill Strengthening Penalties for Encouraging Online Youth Suicide

The Arizona House of Representatives has passed House Bill 2665, which would render encouraging minors to commit suicide online a felony.

The bill, which is sponsored by State Representative Pamela Carter (R-4), expands current Arizona manslaughter laws to include adults over the age of 18 who communicate with a minor online and intentionally push them into committing suicide, especially if they know the victim intends to go through with it.

The bill is named after Cade Keller, a 16-year-old boy who announced his intention to take his own life on social media in 2022, but nobody called 911 or tried to talk him out of it, resulting in his death.

"Two years ago, I met with the mother of Cade Keller, a talented 16-year-old who loved welding and had just started at Mesa Community College," said State Rep. Carter in a press release. "On March 12, 2022, Cade posted on Instagram that he planned to take his life and shared it with peers. No one called 911. Cade's mom found him the next morning after he died by suicide. Arizona law already punishes providing the physical means, but it has left a gap when an adult uses targeted online messages to push a child toward suicide."

"Cade's Law closes that gap. If you are 18 or older and you knowingly encourage a minor who intends to die by suicide, you should face serious criminal consequences. Kids in crisis need help immediately, not spectators and not online predators," she concluded.

State Rep. Carter noted that the bill builds upon House Bill 2666, which increases criminal penalties for sexual extortion of minors online.

HB 2666 upgrades sexual extortion into a class 2 felony, specifically when the adult perpetrator knew, or reasonably should have known, that the victim was between 15 and 17 years old.

"If you prey on teens for money or sexual favors, you should face a class 2 felony and mandatory consecutive prison time," Carter said. "No probation. No shortcuts. No easy way out."