Frank Caprio, a retired municipal judge in Rhode Island who found online fame for his compassionate nature as host of the reality courtroom series Caught in Providence, has died aged 88.
Caprio’s official social media accounts said that he “passed away peacefully” after “a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer”.
The judge billed his courtroom as a place “where people and cases are met with kindness and compassion”. Caprio’s show was filmed in his courtroom and featured his folksy humour and compassion. Clips from the show have attracted more than 1bn views on social media.
During his time on the bench, Caprio developed a persona at odds with many other TV judges – more sympathetic and less confrontational . He also used his fame to address issues such as unequal access to the judicial system.
“The phrase ‘with liberty and justice for all’ represents the idea that justice should be accessible to everyone. However, it is not,” Caprio says in one video. “Almost 90% of low-income Americans are forced to battle civil issues like healthcare, unjust evictions, veterans benefits and, yes, even traffic violations, alone.”
His most popular videos are those in which he calls children to the bench to help pass judgment on their parents. One shows him listening sympathetically to a woman whose son was killed and then dismissing her tickets and fines of $400.
Caprio’s family described him “as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend”.
“Beloved for his compassion, humility, and unwavering belief in the goodness of people, Judge Caprio touched the lives of millions through his work in the courtroom and beyond,” the family wrote online. “His warmth, humor, and kindness left an indelible mark on all who knew him.”
State and local politicians mourned his passing. “Judge Caprio not only served the public well, but he connected with them in a meaningful way, and people could not help but respond to his warmth and compassion,” the Rhode Island governor, Dan McKee, said in a statement. “He was more than a jurist – he was a symbol of empathy on the bench, showing us what is possible when justice is tempered with humanity.”
Caprio retired from Providence municipal court in 2023 after nearly four decades on the bench.
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According to his biography, Caprio came from humble beginnings, the second of three boys growing up in the Federal Hill neighbourhood of Providence, Rhode Island.
“I hope that people will take away that the institutions of government can function very well by exercising kindness, fairness, and compassion in their deliberations. We live in a very contentious society,” he said in 2017. “I would hope that people will see that we can dispense justice without being oppressive.”
