Who watches the watchmen?
Police officers, prison guards and other government officials who improperly abuse the rights of individual Americans have long been recognized in federal law as a threat to society as a whole. That’s why, immediately after the Civil War, Congress approved Title 18 USC 242 — a statute making it a crime to deprive any person of their rights “under color of law.”
But, as case-by-case Justice Department records make very clear, a law on the books does not always translate into a law that is enforced. In this particular case, for example, the latest available Justice Department data show that federal prosecutors declined to file charges against virtually all — 98.7% — of the individuals who the investigative agencies had concluded were in violation of 18 USC 242.
Apparently, no one.
