After six months apart, Kimberly Bartlett’s ex-partner came back into her life and asked for a second chance. They had been out of touch after he strangled her, spent time in jail and went to a sober house. 

She said she knew better, and his contacting her violated an active domestic abuse protection order. But after repeated efforts, Bartlett said she gave in. One of his requests was for her to drop the domestic violence charge against him. 

She almost did. Barlett remembers having a conversation with a crime victim advocate with the Jones County District Attorney’s Office, who asked her, “Are you sure?” 

Men have killed women in domestic situations, the advocate warned. Bartlett replied: “That’s not going to happen to me.” 

Days after that March 2022 conversation, her partner strangled her again. While he held her down, he tried to beat her with a hammer, but Bartlett defended herself with a kitchen knife and survived. He was arrested and convicted that year. 

Bartlett’s experience motivated her to support efforts to create a public registry of repeat domestic violence offenders – a prevention tool to help people stay safe when deciding to enter relationships or consider their risk around a current partner. 

But for Bartlett, a domestic violence registry is also about accountability. She said punishment for domestic abuse should be taken seriously, not only when someone dies. 

“I hope and pray that the next victim makes it out (alive) because, believe me, there will be a next victim,” Bartlett wrote in 2022 when her partner,Justin Jefcoat, was convicted. 

Five bills were proposed this session in the Mississippi Legislature, by members from both parties, to create a registry. Tuesday was the deadline for any of the bills to be voted out of committee to advance, and all five of the bills died. 

Each proposed an online, searchable database containing the person’s name, photo, convictions and the county of conviction. A Tennessee law that created the first domestic abuse registry in the country inspired all the bills.

The Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence specifically supports House Bill 1312, proposed by Rep. Charles Blackwell, an Ellisville Republican, and Senate Bill 2791 by Sen. Kamesha Mumford, a Democrat from Clinton.

Other registry bills, filed by Republicans, are HB 1371 by Rep. Lance Varner of Florence and SB 2113 by Sen. Angela Burks Hill of Picayune. Rep. Celeste Hurst of Sandhill proposed HB 1708, which would require only one domestic violence conviction for a person to be included on the registry. 

Mumford, who served as a Canton municipal judge for a dozen years, started drafting her bill before she began working with the domestic violence coalition. Each week on the bench, she said she saw at least one domestic violence misdemeanor case. 

One couple appeared in her court multiple times for domestic violence offenses spread over years. In another case, a woman pressed charges against a partner who didn’t come to court. Mumford said the woman was killed two weeks later. 

In an age of online searches, Mumford said a registry can help raise awareness and inform people about warning signs or escalating violence. 

Beyond that, she said she hopes a registry can give survivors the strength to come forward to report abuse, especially if they see that someone before them was able to do it. 

“I think this registry takes some of the power away from the offender and gives power back,” Mumford said. 

Mumford and Blackwell’s “Purple Angels Law” bills propose listing those convicted of any domestic violence felony on the registry for life. If such a registry existed at the time, Bartlett’s abuser would have been included. 

Months after Jefcoat’s conviction, Bartlett was the victim of another domestic violence attack by a different partner, Dillon Fergsuon. 

In November 2022, they argued and he struck her multiple times on the head with a gun. Bartlett, who is a nurse, asked her father to take her to the hospital. 

While Bartlett was gone, her mother stayed and called for help. Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the 

Jones County home where Ferguson refused to leave. During a two-hour standoff, he and sheriffs exchanged gunfire, and he shot a reserve deputy. Ferguson, who was also shot, later had to have his leg amputated. Law enforcement used an armored vehicle to get into the home. 

Pictures of Bartlett’s home showed dozens of bullet holes on one wall. The front door was ripped off, and the bathroom counter was torn off. Blood splatter and a trail of Ferguson’s blood stained the walls and floor. She no longer lives in the home because the damage was too great to repair. 

Bartlett remembers sitting in the hospital and coming to an overwhelming realization: She couldn’t fix the situation or her home or cover up what happened. 

“This time it got so out of control, and I couldn’t fix it,” she said. 

Bartlett had often sent her children to stay with their grandparents to shield them from the abuse. But they saw her injuries and were scared for her.

Mumford said a domestic violence registry is a start but not a full remedy. 

A registry would be based on convictions. Some victims pursue charges and then ask for them to be dropped, sometimes at the urging of their abusers. Also, domestic abuse arrests or pending charges would not be captured. 

In Jackson, Jasmine Sandifer is accused of stabbing her boyfriend at the end of December and is charged with aggravated domestic violence, a felony. At the time of the stabbing, the 34-year-old was awaiting trial for stabbing another boyfriend five years earlier, according to court documents. Trial in that case is set for March. 

Oxford resident Amanda Topole, a domestic abuse survivor, sees how a repeat offender registry can be helpful for Mississippi, but she would like to see a more encompassing effort. She started a petition calling for the creation of a national domestic abuse registry that can track people from state to state. 

“I think it could help survivors make informed decisions and next relationships,” said Topole, who is 22. “It can definitely help with the past and the future, and prevent it from happening again, to be a deterrent for future generations.” 

Now that she is in a safe relationship, Topole said she has started to open up about the abuse she faced. Like other survivors, she knows what it’s like to never feel safe again and to remain fearful years after the abuse. 

What encouraged Topole to advocate and share her story is her baby daughter, whom she wants to raise to be safe and not susceptible to harm by future partners. 

Bartlett has also found healing through multiple sources, including a relationship with God, a patient and understanding husband and services through the Domestic Abuse Family Shelter, which serves the Pine Belt area. 

Jefcoat is serving an overlapping 10-year sentence. After serving half of the sentence, he would be eligible for parole. Current prison records list his release date in 2028. 

Ferguson is serving a 20-year sentence for aggravated assault of a police officer using a weapon. His release date is sometime in 2041. He could also be eligible for parole after serving half his sentence.

Bartlett said she feels sick to her stomach knowing they will be released one day. She’s already started taking safety measures and preparing for that future. 

Until then, she will continue to speak about her experience as a survivor, help others and advocate for domestic violence legislation. 

“I am moving forward, but I still advocate for the people that are back here behind me, the people that are still going through this,” Bartlett said.

Update, 2/3/2026: This article has been updated to show that the five registry bills died in committees.