All because he didn't know what "previous to the eighth and immediately subsequent thereto" meant.
The man was an expert puddler.

A puddler makes iron bars.

They were going to put him behind his own bars because he couldn't understand the legal jargon.

Thanks to the great educational system of America the working man has improved his mental muscle as well as his physical.
This taught me a lesson.

Jargon can put the worker in jail.