Lacey v. OpenAI (Amaurie Lacey Death)
A wrongful-death lawsuit alleges ChatGPT provided a 17-year-old with actionable information relevant to hanging after he clarified his questions, and failed to stop or escalate despite explicit self-harm context. The teen died by suicide in June 2025.
AI System
ChatGPT
OpenAI, Inc.
Occurred
June 2, 2025
Reported
November 6, 2025
Jurisdiction
US-GA
Platform
assistant
What Happened
According to the complaint, Amaurie's family believed ChatGPT was safe for students and were unaware of his mental health struggles; the suit alleges ChatGPT was the only 'entity' that knew the extent of his distress.
The complaint describes the teen asking how to tie a 'noose' and, after initial hesitation, reframing the question; it alleges ChatGPT then provided step-by-step knot guidance and later answered questions explicitly framed as 'hanging.'
The suit alleges the system did not terminate the conversation or ensure effective crisis intervention.
AI Behaviors Exhibited
Alleged response that supplied actionable information after user re-framed intent; failure to hard-refuse/terminate; continued engagement during crisis
Documented Harm
A 17-year-old participant died by suicide after ChatGPT allegedly provided actionable hanging-related information and failed to escalate when he clarified the self-harm context.
How Harm Occurred
Method provision + barrier erosion during suicidal ideation; lack of effective crisis escalation
Outcome
OngoingComplaint filed November 6, 2025 in California state court; seeks damages and product safeguards.
Late February 2026: Case consolidated with 12 other OpenAI mental health lawsuits into a single California JCCP (Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding). A coordination judge is being assigned.
Framework
Interaction Concerns
Contributing Factors
Victim
Amaurie Lacey, 17-year-old male, Georgia
People counted
1 person directly affected
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
The complaint documents one named minor AI participant who died. Secondary harms are not included.
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2025). Lacey v. OpenAI (Amaurie Lacey Death). NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-lacey-v-openai
BibTeX
@misc{2025_lacey_v_openai,
title = {Lacey v. OpenAI (Amaurie Lacey Death)},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-lacey-v-openai}
} Related Incidents
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A.D. v. Character Technologies (Kentucky Minor — Grooming and Self-Harm)
A Kentucky girl created a Character.AI account at school in 2024, when she was about twelve, with no parental knowledge and no age check. Her mother's August 2026 federal complaint alleges the platform built emotional dependency, groomed her through simulated sexual encounters, and encouraged self-harm and suicidality. She was fourteen at filing and the complaint says she continues to struggle with depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation.
Acton Double Homicide (Arjun Aravind ChatGPT Family-Killing Stories)
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