Arizona passes Cade's Law to make online suicide encouragement a felony

PHOENIX - Help is available. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to civilians and veterans. Support in Spanish is also available. You can also chat with crisis counselors via online chat.

CLICK HERE for the warning signs and risk factors of suicide.

--

Cade's Law:

Cade's Law, a law that expands the definition of manslaughter to include encouraging someone online to die by suicide, recently took effect. It is named after Cade Keller, a teenager who died by suicide.

Law in Effect:

Lawmakers at the Capitol passed Cade's Law unanimously to hold adults accountable online. But for Cade's family, this new law is just the first step in a much larger fight.

Who Cade Was:

Cade Keller's mom and stepdad remember him as an outdoorsman, skater, welding student at Mesa Community College, and clothes designer.

"I like to refer to Cade as the greatest renaissance man from a very young age," said Megan Keller, Cade's mom.

"He would go to Goodwill, he would buy clothes, come back, modify them, and people would want to buy the clothes off his back," said Brian Cooper, Cade's stepdad.

The backstory:

Before the 16-year-old took his own life in 2022, he sent three videos to 12 people on Instagram expressing that he wanted to die. No one raised the alarm.

"Not one of them did anything. Some of them talked with him, but nobody called 911, got their parents, 988," Keller said.

Spreading Awareness:

Now his mom and stepdad are making it their mission to spread mental health awareness. A big part of their fight was getting Cade's Law passed.

"It holds people accountable on social media, so that nobody can mindlessly scroll anymore," Keller said.

Class 2 Felony:

The law makes it a Class 2 felony for adults to intentionally advise or encourage a minor to die by suicide across social media, texts, or other online platforms.

"It was unanimous in both Houses, and I think that is a real legislative victory that we were able to work with everyone," said State Representative Pamela Carter.

Big picture view:

Now his parents, along with State Representative Pamela Carter, are fighting to pass Cade's Law nationwide.

"I don't think there was a black and white on what Cade was going to attempt to do. He made it extremely clear," Cooper said.

Local perspective:

In Cade's honor, Mesa Community College is opening a new welding lab bearing his name that will double as a wellness center for students struggling with mental health issues.

Help is available. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to civilians and veterans. Support in Spanish is also available. You can also chat with crisis counselors via online chat. CLICK HERE for the warning signs and risk factors of suicide.

Arizona PoliticsMental HealthArizonaNews