On January 8, 2026, HB 1872, which would establish the Missouri Survivors’ Act, was read for the second time. This proposed bill permits survivors of domestic abuse and coercion to introduce evidence of their experiences to be considered as a mitigating factor and potentially result in reduced prison time.
Since the passage of the Battered Spouse Syndrome (BSS) legislation in 1987, there has been a substantial amount of new research focusing on the effects of domestic abuse. At the time, the BSS defense was only a partial solution, and with its limited scope, it lingers as an obstacle to justice. The call for survivors’ justice reform has been spreading across the country, with New York, Oklahoma, and Georgia recently passing legislation similar to HB 1872.
From conversations with previously incarcerated survivors, we have learned that Missouri courts have been unreceptive to this form of mitigating evidence and are very likely to assign harsh sentences for women convicted of offenses that are rooted in survival.
HB 1872 is reformative in several ways. During a sentencing hearing, survivors can introduce evidence of their abuse, including but not limited to police involvement, witness testimony, and court documents, and if they can prove that their experience of abuse was a substantial contributing factor to their conviction, the survivor will be sentenced in accordance with the range of a lower felony class. Additionally, survivors who are currently incarcerated will be able to apply for resentencing and be eligible for either release or earlier release from prison.
We are working with Representative Reuter (R-Jefferson) to amend the current language of the bill so that:
- Coercion is included as an element of domestic abuse. Defining abuse to include coercion more accurately reflects how emotional, economic, and physical abuse are rooted in power and control.
- Evidence of past abuse is explicitly allowed to demonstrate a pattern and intention to intimidate the survivor. Without considering the full pattern of abuse, jurors miss critical context for assessing credibility and truth in a single act of violence.
- The definition of abuser is expanded to include someone who was not a “family member.” This allows for the inclusion of abusers who are traffickers or were not living in the same household as their victim. Many traffickers present themselves as intimate partners, and trafficking uses the same tactics of domestic abuse.
To further support the Missouri Survivors’ Act, we are researching the scope and size of the criminalized survivor population in Missouri’s prisons and jails. With the support of the Department of Corrections, we will survey women incarcerated in the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Center and the Chillicothe Correctional Center to learn more about the relationship between their experienced abuse and conviction history, as well as their experience with Missouri’s legal system. To learn more about this project, click here.
If you or someone you know is interested in supporting this effort, please email Rachel Sorensen (rsorensen@appleseednetwork.org).
