Frank Caprio Sr., a municipal judge in Providence, R.I., who exemplified empathy on the bench and became known far beyond the state because of his nationally syndicated television show, has died. He was 88.
The cause was pancreatic cancer, his family said in a statement, which did not say when or where he died. He retired from Providence Municipal Court in 2023, after almost 40 years on the bench.
Judge Caprio said his courtroom was “where people and cases are met with kindness and compassion.” That was in striking contrast to other TV judges who showed a harsher attitude toward defendants.
It was his TV show, “Caught in Providence,” on the Law & Crime network, that catapulted him to fame later in his life. Clips from the program have more than 800 million views combined on its YouTube channel.
The show broadcast real proceedings for traffic infractions, housing and zoning issues, and minor criminal offenses inside a municipal courtroom. It began airing on public access cable in Providence in 1988. It was produced by Judge Caprio’s brother Joseph. By the mid-2010s, about 200 stations across the country broadcast the program.
“We are different from any other court production in that we show actual proceedings in real time,” he said in 2019. “Everything is spontaneous, and the people who appear must abide by the judgment.”
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The post Frank Caprio, Kind Judge of ‘Caught in Providence,’ Dies at 88 appeared first on New York Times.
