A US judge who amassed a huge online fan base via clips of his compassion in the courtroom has died at the age of 88 after battling cancer. Frank Caprio was on the bench at a court in Providence, Rhode Island, for almost four decades. He became affectionately known as the “nicest judge in the world”, international media reported, after viral videos of him handing out justice with a smile were viewed more than a billion times on social media.
The latter years of his career, which ended in 2023, were documented in the TV show “Caught in Providence.” A statement on Wednesday on his Instagram page, which had 3.2 million followers, said he had died aged 88 “after a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer”.
It said he was “beloved for his compassion, humility, and unwavering belief in the goodness of people”. In one popular clip, he dismissed a traffic ticket handed to a bartender who had skipped a red light, as they were earning less than £2.97 an hour.
Another saw him listening sympathetically to a woman whose son had been killed, before dismissing her tickets and fines, which had totalled $400 (£297). Caprio also used his fame to speak out about inequality in the justice system. “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,” he said in one video.
