Ducey signs bill making it a crime to encourage teen suicide

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation Wednesday that makes it a crime for an adult to provide advice or encouragement that a teenager uses to take their own life.

The law was prompted by the death of a 17-year-old Chandler teen who died by suicide in 2019. Adrio Romine’s mother later learned than an adult had encouraged and given her son advice over the internet on how to die by suicide.

The bill, HB2459, allows a manslaughter charge to be filed against any adult who guides or encourages a juvenile to kill themselves. The presumptive penalty for a conviction is 5 years in prison but a person can receive up to 10 years for a manslaughter conviction.

Ducey said in a statement that protecting Arizona families is a top priority and called the new law “a step in the right direction.”

The bill signing ceremony was attended by Romine’s mother, Paolla Jordan, who worked with Republican Rep. Jeff Weninger of Chandler to champion the legislation. The legislation passed unanimously in the House and Senate and contains an emergency clause, meaning it went into effect upon Ducey’s signature.

Jordan said she hopes no other parent has to go through what her family experienced.

“There are dangerous people out there that can prey on our children on the internet,” Jordan said in a statement released by Ducey’s office. “Today there is a consequence for a predator’s actions.”