Former deputy U.S. marshal sentenced for assault on a shackled federal prisoner
Joshua Firmin was sentenced to 45 months after DOJ says he assaulted a shackled federal prisoner and falsified a use-of-force report.
Federal prosecutors say former Deputy U.S. Marshal Joshua Firmin abused his authority by assaulting a federal prisoner who was restrained in a courthouse cell block in Lafayette, Louisiana—and then filing a false use-of-force report about what happened.
On July 13, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana re-issued its sentencing release announcing Firmin’s 45-month federal prison sentence.
45 months after a jury convicted him of civil-rights and records falsification
According to the Eastern District of Louisiana sentencing release, a federal jury in the Western District of Louisiana convicted Firmin in April 2026 after a three-day trial on two counts: Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law and Falsification of Records.
On the sentencing release page re-issued July 13, the court imposed the 45-month sentence.
What DOJ says happened during courthouse custody
The DOJ releases describe related custody allegations tied to the federal courthouse in Lafayette, but they use different incident dates and different restraint terminology when recounting the evidence presented at trial.
• The Eastern District of Louisiana sentencing release says the conduct occurred on February 29, 2024 and describes the prisoner as restrained with handcuffs, waist shackles, and leg irons.
• The DOJ Office of Public Affairs jury-conviction release describes evidence at trial tied to Feb. 9, 2024 and describes the prisoner as restrained with handcuffs, a belly chain, and leg irons.
In the sentencing release’s account of the assault, DOJ says Firmin entered the courthouse cell block, unlocked the prisoner’s cell, yanked the prisoner out by the hair, and slammed his head into the cellblock wall. DOJ says the prisoner suffered a scalp laceration that required staples to close.
The “paperwork” allegation DOJ treated as a separate criminal issue
DOJ says the accountability story did not end with the alleged assault. The Eastern District of Louisiana sentencing release says Firmin later wrote an official use-of-force report that falsely stated the prisoner attempted to spit on him and that the prisoner’s head injury happened inadvertently while the prisoner was resisting efforts to be escorted to another cell.
DOJ says a different Deputy U.S. Marshal who witnessed the assault promptly reported the misconduct to his chain of command, leading to an investigation by the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
Who investigated and prosecuted
DOJ says the case was investigated by the DOJ OIG South Central Region Houston Office. DOJ also says the matter was prosecuted by the Civil Rights Division with Trial Attorney Alec Ward and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chandra Menon listed in the release.
What the July 13 re-issue means—and what to watch next
The key reader-facing fact is confirmed: Firmin received a 45-month sentence after his conviction for deprivation of rights under color of law and falsification of records.
For document-tracking, note that the Eastern District of Louisiana page shows a re-issue dated July 13, 2026, while the DOJ Office of Public Affairs version shows it was updated July 10, 2026. That difference appears to be about publication/update timing on DOJ’s website, not a change in the underlying sentence.
What to watch next is court follow-through: any appeal filings and docket entries related to the Western District of Louisiana conviction and the sentencing will typically show up publicly if/when parties act.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana — Sentencing release (re-issued July 13, 2026)
- DOJ Office of the Inspector General — Indictment press release (deprivation of rights + falsification)
- KATC (local TV) — Reader-facing trial coverage of the conviction
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