Enacted as the “Grace Anne Sparks Coercive Suicide Prevention Law of 2026,” Tennessee Senate Bill 1815 (sponsored by Bailey and paired with House Bill 1951) amends TCA Title 39 to establish coercive suicide as a Class D felony. The law is named in memory of Grace Anne Sparks, a young woman who died in 2019 after being online-coerced into a deadly game; because the act was not previously a designated crime in Tennessee, her abuser served only two years in prison.

Under this new legislation, which passed with unanimous legislative support and was signed by Governor Bill Lee, anyone convicted of the offense now faces a deterrent of up to 12 years behind bars.

The core of the legislation targets individuals who intentionally advise or encourage another person to commit or attempt suicide with the purpose of inciting, persuading, or aiding them within an imminent timeframe, provided the offender knew the victim had communicated suicidal intent.

While the bill’s original draft included provisions to hold artificial intelligence owners and entities criminally liable if their AI system similarly encouraged suicide through negligent accessibility, Senate Amendment #1 completely removed all AI-related felony provisions prior to passage.

Ultimately, with the addition of its official short title via House Amendment #2, the finalized law applies strictly to human-driven offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026.