From: mongo@biteme.com   
      
   https://apnews.com/article/frank-caprio-judge-online-caught-providence-   
   bcb75a39d8cbc988bf6444893cff844e   
      
   Frank Caprio, Rhode Island judge who drew a huge online audience with his   
   compassion, dies at age 88   
      
   By  STEVE LeBLANC   
   Updated 8:46 PM EDT, August 20, 2025   
      
      
   PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Frank Caprio, a retired municipal judge in Rhode   
   Island who found online fame as a caring jurist and host of ” Caught in   
   Providence,” has died. He was 88.   
      
   His official social media accounts said Wednesday he “passed away   
   peacefully” after “a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.”   
      
   Caprio billed his courtroom as a place “where people and cases are met   
   with kindness and compassion.” He was known for dismissing tickets or   
   showing kindness even when he handed out justice.   
      
   Last week, Caprio posted a short video on Facebook about how he had “a   
   setback,” was back in the hospital and was asking that people “remember me   
   in your prayers.”   
      
   Caprio’s show was filmed in his courtroom and featured his folksy humor   
   and compassion. Clips from the show have had more than 1 billion views on   
   social media.   
      
   During his time on the bench, Caprio developed a persona at odds with many   
   TV judges — more sympathetic and less confrontational and judgmental.   
      
   In his bite-sized segments on YouTube, Caprio is often seen empathizing   
   with those in his courtroom. Many of the infractions are also relatively   
   minor, from failing to use a turn signal to a citation for a loud party.   
      
   Caprio also used his fame to address issues like 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 said   
   in one video. “Almost 90% of low-income Americans are forced to battle   
   civil issues like health care, unjust evictions, veterans benefits and,   
   yes, even traffic violations, alone.”   
      
      
   Caprio’s upbeat take on the job of a judge drew him millions of views. His   
   most popular videos have been those where 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.   
      
   In another clip, after dismissing a red-light violation for a bartender   
   who was making $3.84 per hour, Caprio urged those watching the video not   
   to duck out on their bills.   
      
   “If anyone’s watching I want them to know you better not eat and run   
   because you’re going to get caught and the poor people who are working   
   hard all day for three bucks an hour are going to have to pay your bill,”   
   he said.   
      
   On social media, his family described Caprio “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. “His warmth, humor,   
   and kindness left an indelible mark on all who knew him.”   
      
   State and local politicians mourned his passing and celebrated his life.   
      
   “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,” Rhode Island Gov. 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.”   
      
   Robert Leonard, who co-owned a restaurant with Caprio, said he was “going   
   to be sorely missed” and was “all around wonderful.”   
      
   “There is nothing he wouldn’t do for you if he could do it,” Leonard   
   said.   
      
   Caprio retired from Providence Municipal Court in 2023 after nearly four   
   decades on the bench.   
      
   According to his biography, Caprio came from humble beginnings, the second   
   of three boys growing up in the Federal Hill neighborhood 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.”   
      
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