By Koda Slingluff
SAN FRANCISCO– This New Year’s Eve, two pedestrians crossing the street here were struck and killed by a hit-and-run car driven by Troy Ramon McAlister, who allegedly stole the car two days earlier from Daly City where he committed a robbery—McAlister was seen by witnesses escaping in the car after the crash.
Now, the pedestrian deaths are calling into question the reform policies of progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
Inside the stolen vehicle was a semiautomatic handgun and 23 grams of methamphetamine. The prosecution believes McAlister was under the influence of that methamphetamine as well as alcohol when he committed the crime.
But McAlister already had a history of similar crimes—in April, he was sentenced to state prison for robbery, and then in November and December, he was arrested on suspicion of car theft.
Traditionally, these instances may have led to additional imprisonment time. But instead of filing new charges in November and December, DA Boudin’s office referred the cases to parole.
These referral choices likely stem from the DA office’s new progressive platform, which advocates using innovative approaches to address the roots of crime while rejecting what it sees as 
ineffective, racist incarceration policies.
Boudin has since faced criticism for what some may see as a failure of attempts at reform.
SF Public Defender Mano Raju released a statement regarding McAlister’s Jan. 5 case, noting, “We are just beginning to receive information to make legal determinations in this case, and hold to our legal duty to uphold the principle of innocence unless and until proven guilty.
“What seems clear already is that this painful set of circumstances has illuminated larger, multi-system, societal failures” Raju’s statement said.
Both Raju and Boudin’s public statements appear to acknowledge the faults of the criminal justice system which led to this crime.
Boudin was elected as district attorney November 2019. His platform emphasized the ending of mass incarceration, protection of victims, and addressal of the root causes of crime.
The DA’s website states: “DA Boudin’s policies focus on prioritizing treatment, resources, and support for those whose crimes stem from underlying struggles. This also allows the office to focus resources on protecting the public from serious and violent crime.”
Given the newness of the district attorney, those opposing his reformist policy may view McAlister’s case as a sign of fault in the new reform approach of the DA’s office.
Statements from both the defense and prosecution in McAlister’s case seem to acknowledge such a potential backlash, emphasizing that the failures of the justice system are systemic and far from new.
“We cannot let opponents of a more fair and just criminal legal system exploit this loss-of-life to convince others that the system we’ve long relied upon is the best we can do,” Raju said.
Boudin said, “I am implementing concrete changes to our longstanding practices regarding referrals to other agencies. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners—including police agencies and parole—to make systematic changes effective immediately.”
Boudin has also filed multiple felony charges against McAlister; notably, two counts of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, enhancements related to McAlister’s prior strike convictions, felony possession of a firearm, felony driving under the influence causing serious bodily harm, felony leaving the scene of a collision, felony driving a stolen vehicle, felony transportation of a controlled substance, felony burglary, and felony vandalism.
With these charges, Boudin’s office hopes to reconcile the perceived failings of not prosecuting McAlister sooner.
Boudin has also implemented a change in policy. Now, prosecutors in Boudin’s DA office are required to communicate directly with parole when referring cases for violations or in making decisions about such cases.
This policy change, he said, will hopefully help prosecutors to more accurately decide who is or is not a concern to public safety.
Boudin elaborated, “We are focused on three things as we move forward: holding Mr. McAlister accountable for the harm he caused; supporting the victims’ families; and working internally in our own office and along with our justice partners to make changes to prevent this kind of tragedy.”
Amid the controversy of the handling of McAlister’s case, a new piece of information rattled the public, that Boudin, the DA, made an appearance for McAlister’s attorney, according to old court minutes.
While some believed this meant Boudin had represented McAlister in the past, the defense argued that this is not the case at all.
“Mr. McAlister’s lawyer was in trial in another case and she filed the motion to continue as a result. It is common for attorneys to make ‘stand-in’ appearances on behalf of an unavailable colleague.” Raju explained. “Mr. Boudin was apparently such a ‘stand-in’ on an uncontested postponement of the case to a new date.”
Again, Raju emphasized that it was failures of the system, not deviance from the system, that were at fault, maintaining, “He would not have had any confidential information nor presented any arguments on Mr. McAlister’s behalf. Our overburdened courts could scarcely function without such courtesies.
“We must commit to trying to prevent harm, not by attempting to mercilessly punish it away, but by disrupting the pathway to harm and violence through systems of support and care. This is what is actually needed for our communities to be safe,” Raju continued.
Koda is a junior at UC Berkeley, majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Rhetoric. He is from Ventura, CA.
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Yeah, that should make Elizabeth Platt, 60, and Hanako Abe, 27, feel reconciled for the perceived failings of first paroling and then not prosecuting McAlister sooner.
Elizabeth Platt, 60, and Hanako Abe, 27, who were not mentioned in this article, were the two people run down and killed by McAlister.
Someone in a stolen vehicle, under the influence of more than one substance, carrying a gun, with a prior history of criminal behavior, should probably not be referred for parole. Perhaps we need more transparency as to how and why that decision was made, and what new or modified policies caused that decision to be made.
Those advocating for judicial and police reform probably do need to understand that most people consider public safety to be the desired priority of our judicial and policing systems. Assumptions that criminal behavior is caused by “underlying issues” that can be addressed with any degree of efficacy are probably not evidence-based.
Very well written article, by the way.
““We cannot let opponents of a more fair and just criminal legal system exploit this loss-of-life to convince others that the system we’ve long relied upon is the best we can do,” Raju said.”
While I agree with Don that public safety is and should remain the desired priority, that does not mean that we do not have major inequities and injustices within our current judicial system. Reform is indicated and mistakes will always occur, especially at the beginning of any new process. I do not believe we should advocate the “Willie Horton” approach to the design of a more safe and just system.
I wonder how Elizabeth Platt and Hanako Abe feel about mistakes being made?
Sounds like they’re not feeling much of anything, anymore.
But maybe their families are.
Do you believe that any policy should be reversed based on an outcome that results in the loss of life?
As we often hear from the left, one life lost is one too many.
So we should end pre-trial detention because dozens of people died of COVID, correct?
So are Elizabeth Platt and Hanako Abe just to be considered collateral damage?
The last I checked the person who killed them is being prosecuted. Isn’t that the way the system works, someone commits a crime, they face due process of a law and if convicted, punished accordingly?
David, you just answered your own question. McAlister committed crimes but was paroled and not charged and convicted for subsequent crimes. The progressive system didn’t work.
That’s your conclusion. Not necessarily mine. The system as a whole has a 70 percent recidivism rate. To me that suggests that the problem is with the system and not with reforms.
And check and mate. Both white and black chess pieces. Both both won and lost. Thus we are all lost.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/recall-effort-san-francisco-da-chesa-boudin
The Washington Examiner is a right wing publication.
What was false about the excerpt above that I posted. We’ve been through this several times. You often post excerpts and cite the NY Times, Washington Post, etc… all left wing publications. So should we scoff at your writings when you use those types of sources?