California parole agents were allegedly ordered to 'not search for violations' while Troy McAlister — GPS-monitored, arrested five times in six months, jailed for just 11 days total — remained free to kill Hanako Abe and Elizabeth Platt. Five years later, a civil lawsuit targets state parole, the public defender seeks dismissal, and Sacramento still won't fund the voter-approved Prop 36 reforms meant to prevent exactly this.
Read Top Post →Voters overwhelmingly passed Prop 36 to restore accountability after Prop 47’s failures — the same policy environment that let McAlister cycle through five arrests with 11 total days in jail. Sacramento’s response: refuse to fund it. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan called the sabotage out directly: “Budgets are a reflection of our values.” The state is actively blocking the reforms voters demanded after cases like McAlister’s.
Jan 20, 2026 · 2 min
On New Year’s Eve 2020, Troy McAlister killed Hanako Abe, 27, and Elizabeth Platt, 60, plowing into them with a stolen car while high on meth and armed. He’d been arrested on October 15, November 6, and December 20 — spending a combined 11 days in jail. DA Chesa Boudin had given him a time-served plea on a robbery carrying 35-to-life exposure. Five years later, the public defender is seeking full dismissal.
Jan 01, 2026 · 2 min
