Meet the judge whose mercy has made him an internet sensation

Chief Judge Frank Caprio has become something of a hero for his compassion, and here are just some of the reasons why!

‘If it’s a close call, I give the benefit of the doubt.’ — Chief Judge Frank Caprio

Chief Judge Frank Caprio oversees Providence, Rhode Island’s, municipal court, dealing mainly with parking tickets and other low-level crimes. But it’s his unique way of delivering justice has made him a viral star thanks to videos from the local ABC affiliate’s six-day-a-week ‘Caught In Providence’ show. Himself a child of the Great Depression who grew up in a close-knit Italian-American neighbourhood, Judge Caprio says: ‘If it’s a close call, I give the benefit of the doubt.’

Judge says he owes everything to his hard working immigrant father

Judge Frank Caprio is the chief municipal judge in Providence, Rhode Island, and he has become something of an internet sensation due to his unique way of delivering justice. Caprio presides over parking tickets, speeding fines, arraignments for criminal offences and petty misdemeanours.

The viral videos, which have seen Caprio become a global sensation, are from the TV show Caught in Providence, which airs locally on ABC6-WL.

Judge Caprio is pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction to his videos and says that he owes everything to his hard working immigrant father. He also revealed the reason he believes the videos have attracted so much attention.

Judge Caprio traces his success directly from life lessons he received from his father, Antonio

‘I was very lucky as a young man because my entire family lived in Federal Hill. Between my aunts, uncles and grandparents, we never went hungry. It was a very close-knit family who had very few, if any, material possessions.’

‘We lived in cold-water flats, so-called because we didn’t have hot, running water. We lived across the street from the bathhouse that served the community.‘

‘Like everyone else, my parents’ hopes and dreams were that their children would succeed, become leaders in society and be good, decent, honorable people – which is what they preached constantly.’

Judge Caprio traces his success directly from life lessons he received from his father, Antonio Caprio.

‘My Dad was a milkman. He would wake my brother and I early in the morning, get us on the milk truck at four o’clock and would constantly remind us; "If you don’t want to do this for the rest of your life, find a way to go to college because I can’t afford to send you." So we did.’

Frank Caprio paid his own way through Providence College and graduated with a degree in political science.’I washed dishes and worked as a counterman at a restaurant. Fortunately during the Fifties, you were able to do that and pay for your own college, not something you can do today.’ 

Chief Judge Caprio is clearly a very wise man, using his discretion and compassion to make informed judgements that benefit both the defendent and the wider society in which they live. Hats off to this kind and decent lawman.

Below: check out some of Caprio’s videos that went viral on social media.

Source: DailyMail.co.uk