You’d think that someone who shows up to work two hours early, unprompted, might get a raise or at least some welcomed attention from superiors — not a month behind bars. Especially when that work has to do with hauling people’s trash away from their houses. Unfortunately, because the world is a really, really screwed up place, doing just that landed Kevin McGill, a sanitation worker in Sandy Springs, Ga., a trip to the slammer for 30 days, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

“The solicitor said it’s automatic jail time. He didn’t want to hear nothing I had to say. I said it’s my first time,” McGill told WSB-TV’s Tom Jones. And, no, for the record, he’s not that Tom Jones.

However, it’s not unusual for sanitation workers to start their jobs early in the city of Sandy Springs, an Atlanta suburb. The solicitor who threw McGill in the hoosegow says that this is a recurring problem, and they were tired of fining the sanitation companies. Instead, they just decided, “Screw it, let’s throw these ambitious sons of bitches in jail.”

“Fines don’t seem to work,” said chief prosecutor Bill Riley. “The only thing that seems to stop the activity is actually going to jail.” A Sandy Springs ordinance says sanitation workers must pick up garbage between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. McGill was arrested for picking up trash at 5 a.m., so a full two hours before work.

McGill is serving his 30-day sentence on the weekends, so for the next 14 weeks, he’ll be locked away with real criminals, away from everyone he loves. “I just want this to be over with,” he said. “I’m away from my family, my wife, and she’s got to take care of the two little boys and I have four dogs.”

I get that the law is the law, but come on — throwing the guy in jail for 30 days is pretty excessive. It’s not his truck, it’s not his company, he’s just a guy trying to make an honest buck for his wife and kids. And a shitload of dogs. Is that a crime? I sure as hell hope not..

Image via Paolo Bona / Shutterstock.com

[via WSB-TV]