MANILA, Philippines – Judge Frank Caprio died after a battle with pancreatic cancer, his family announced on Thursday, August 21. He was 88.
“He will be remembered not only as a respected judge, but as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend. His legacy lives on in the countless acts of kindness he inspired,” his family said.
Caprio was known as “the nicest judge in the world,” for the time he would take to hear out the stories and circumstances of those attending hearings for criminal offenses involving traffic and parking violations.
These hearings and arraignments would be televised through the hit show Caught in Providence, which aired from 2018 to 2020.
On the show, Caprio would encounter all kinds of people — a single mother struggling to make ends meet, a sick woman who had to drive herself to the emergency room, and a 96-year-old father caught speeding while he was on his way to take his cancer-stricken son to the hospital for blood work, among many others.
Clips from the show would continue to go viral on social media in the following years.
According to his son David, Caprio was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023. He died surrounded by family and friends.
Caprio was a municipal court judge in Providence, Rhode Island from 1985 to 2023.
Just months before his death, he published his Compassion in the Court: Life-Changing Stories from America’s Nicest Judge — where he shared all the lessons he’s learned on kindness in the courtroom. – Rappler.com