The city of Sandy Springs has suspended the jail sentence for a sanitation worker who picked up trash too early, violating a city ordinance.
Kevin McGill was sentenced to 30 days in jail after he picked up trash at 5 a.m. one day. The ordinance says sanitation workers must haul trash between the hours of 7 in the morning to 7 in the evening.
The city solicitor said he'd tried everything to get sanitation workers to stop coming to communities before 7 a.m. He said he tried fining the companies they work for, but it doesn't work; so he had decided to haul them off to jail.
“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,” sanitation worker Kevin McGill told Channel 2’s Tom Jones last week.
After his story gained national attention, the city of Sandy Springs suspended his sentence, posting the following statement.
"There are times when taking a step back provides the opportunity for better perspective. In retrospect, the actions of the court with regards to Mr. McGill’s sentence for violating the city’s noise laws, was disproportionate to a first-time offense. As such, the court has amended its sentence to time served and further probation suspended.
City ordinances are implemented for the protection of quality of life within a community. The adherence to these laws is important, and the City is obligated to enforce these laws, which includes imposing sanctions against those individuals who break the law."
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