Mica Miller's ‘list' behind recently filed coercive control bill, new push for action
Republican state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch of Murrells Inlet, , says it was because of Mica and her family that the bill is seeing light again. Several have been filed in past years — the most recent one in 2021. But never made it out of a committee.
Mica's family says they believe if one was passed then, she would still be here today.
'Mica did not have to die for Mica's law to be written,' Mica's sister Abigail Francis said.
Sunday marked one year since Mica Miller's death. Robeson County officials ruled her death a suicide after she was found at Lumber River State Park with a gunshot wound to her head.
Allegations of abuse by her husband, Myrtle Beach area pastor John-Paul Miller have gained national attention.
Police reports state Mica told officers she was being tracked and harassed on multiple occasions.
Since then, it's prompted many like attorney Regina Ward who represented Mica to seek stronger laws.
'I think that people need to be paying attention,' Ward said. 'So, whenever that next turnover comes to who you're going to vote for, vote for someone who's going to be protecting your daughters, that's going to pass laws that protect your sister, that'll protect your mother.'
The bill aims to protect victims beyond just physical abuse, using what Mica experienced as the foundation.
Here is what the previous bill outlines:
isolating a person from their friends and family
depriving a person of basic needs
monitoring a person's time
monitoring a person via online communication tools or using spyware
taking control over aspects of a person's everyday life, including where the person may go, who the person may see, what a person may wear, and when a person may sleep
depriving a person access to support services, including medical services
repeatedly insulting a person, including expressing the person's worthlessness
enforcing rules and activities that humiliate, degrade, or dehumanize the person
forcing a person to take part in criminal activity, including shoplifting and neglect or abuse of children, to encourage the person's self-blame and prevent disclosure to authorities
financial abuse, including control of finances and only allowing a person a punitive allowance
threats to hurt or kill
threats to a child
threats to reveal or publish private information or extort the person or a member of the person's family in retaliation by legal or other means
assault
rape
preventing a person from having access to transport or from working
Several states including California, Connecticut and Hawaii have adopted 'coercive control' laws, while similar efforts are pending in Florida, Maryland, New York and Washington, according to the group Americas Conference to End Coercive Control.
Mica's sister Abigail Francis and Ward spent months reaching out to lawmakers, including Sen. Luke Rankin, who's also chair of the judiciary committee where the last bill died.
Francis says she had an appointment with Rankin set up last June, but it was canceled because he says in an e-mail 'he wasn't aware of it.'
He goes on to say if a bill is passed in the senate, he will assign it to a subcommittee for consideration.
Ward says she's reached out to his office 12 times via email and called his office on several occasions since June and has only heard back once, recently.
'We elected you to be in that position and you are taking advantage of it and completely dismissing a very important thing that's going on in your community and that's sad,' Francis said.
Unlike others, she says Goldfinch's office answered. While the recently filed bill is almost the same as the one in 2021, Goldfinch says all bills need work and can be amended.
'There's quite a few situations in the law that aren't accounted for what we call loopholes, right. Loopholes in the law, especially for a couple that's in a relationship, especially even more so for a married couple,' he said.
Goldfinch says since he filed the bill, he's had many victims reach out to him making him more aware of the issue.
He says he expects the bill to reach the judiciary committee in January and pass next year.
Mica's sister and father, Michael Francis, say they think Mica would be proud to see her family working to protect future victims.
'She would be in my seat,' Francis said. 'I would be at home doing all the research stuff, and she would be the one talking to you. Whether she was here or not. And this was brought to our attention, we would still be doing it.'
News13 reached out to Sen. Rankin multiple times in the last few months have not heard back.
Mica's family asks instead of posting on social media to advocate for stronger domestic violence laws, reach out to your legislators. They encourage anyone to call, email or send letters.
* * *
Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook, and X, formerly Twitter. You can also read more of her work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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