Mississippi panel bills fail to advance public registry of domestic abusers

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Mississippi lawmakers killed five bills this session that would have created a public, searchable registry of people convicted of domestic violence offenses, with the proposals failing to advance after missing a Tuesday deadline to move out of committee, the Associated Press reported. The legislation drew support from domestic-violence advocates and survivors who argued that a registry could help the public assess risk in relationships and strengthen accountability for repeat offenders.

The AP report described the impetus for the effort through the experience of Kimberly Bartlett, whose ex-partner contacted her in 2022 despite an active domestic abuse protection order. Bartlett told lawmakers she gave in after repeated efforts from him and after a conversation with a crime victim advocate at the Jones County District Attorney’s Office that warned the pattern of domestic killing could repeat.

Bartlett said the warning came before the most recent assault. Days after a March 2022 conversation with the advocate, the partner strangled her again and tried to beat her with a hammer, according to the report. Bartlett said she defended herself with a kitchen knife and survived; the man was arrested and convicted that year.

Bartlett later described her advocacy for a domestic violence registry as both a prevention tool and an accountability measure. She said she wanted people to be able to recognize risk and warning signs when deciding whether to start relationships or evaluate a current partner, and she said punishment should be taken seriously even when a victim is not killed. In remarks attributed to her in 2022, Bartlett wrote that she hoped “the next victim makes it out (alive).”

The AP report said the five bills proposed this session all included an online, searchable database with a person’s name, photo, convictions and the county of conviction. The proposals were inspired by a Tennessee law that created the first domestic abuse registry in the country, the report said. It also said the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence specifically supported House Bill 1312 by Rep. Charles Blackwell and Senate Bill 2791 by Sen. Kamesha Mumford.

Blackwell’s bill and Mumford’s bill—described in the report as “Purple Angels Law” versions—would have required listing those convicted of domestic violence felonies for life. The report also described Mumford’s background as a former Canton municipal judge and her account of seeing domestic violence cases while working, including a scenario she described in which a woman pressed charges against a partner who did not come to court and was later killed. Mumford told lawmakers, according to the report, that a registry could help raise awareness and inform people about warning signs or escalating violence, and she said it could strengthen survivors’ willingness to come forward.

Other proposals also failed to advance. The report said Rep. Lance Varner filed House Bill 1371, Sen. Angela Burks Hill filed Senate Bill 2113, and Rep. Celeste Hurst filed House Bill 1708. Hurst’s proposal, as described by the AP, would have required only one domestic violence conviction for a person to be included on the registry.

The AP report added that a registry would not necessarily address all the complexities of domestic violence cases, particularly where victims pursue charges and then seek to drop them at times the report said may be influenced by abusers. The report said the database would be based on convictions and would not cover domestic abuse arrests or pending charges. The report also cited examples of victims and cases to illustrate that gap.

The report recounted a second episode in Bartlett’s story involving a different partner. Months after Justin Jefcoat’s conviction, Bartlett was attacked by Dillon Ferguson, the report said. In November 2022, Bartlett said Ferguson struck her multiple times on the head with a gun; she sought hospital care, while her mother stayed and called for help. The report said deputies arrived at the Jones County home and that during a two-hour standoff Ferguson refused to leave, exchanges of gunfire occurred, and Ferguson shot a reserve deputy. The report said law enforcement used an armored vehicle to enter the home and that Ferguson later had a leg amputated after being shot.

Bartlett described the continuing aftermath as well. The AP report said photographs of the home showed dozens of bullet holes on one wall, the front door ripped off and damage to interior areas, and it said Bartlett no longer lives there because the damage could not be repaired. Bartlett said, as the report put it, that she realized she could not fix what happened; she also described sending her children to stay with their grandparents during earlier periods of abuse because she wanted to shield them, though they later saw her injuries.

Another domestic-violence survivor, Oxford resident Amanda Topole, supported the concept of a repeat offender registry but asked for a broader approach, the report said. Topole started a petition calling for a national domestic abuse registry that can track offenders across state lines, and she told the AP she believes such a system could help survivors make informed decisions, deter future abuse and support people in both present and future relationships.

Bartlett’s account included the prospect of future releases from prison. The AP report said Jefcoat is serving an overlapping 10-year sentence with a listed release date in 2028, and it said Ferguson is serving a 20-year sentence for aggravated assault of a police officer using a weapon with a release date sometime in 2041, with both men potentially eligible for parole after serving half their sentences.

The AP report said Mumford and Blackwell’s bills and the other approaches failed at the committee deadline, but it also said Bartlett continues to advocate for domestic-violence legislation and to speak about her experience as a survivor.