Judge Frank Caprio
Renowned American judge Frank Caprio has passed away peacefully at the age of 88 on August 20, 2015 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Caprio was an American judge and politician who served as the chief judge of the municipal court of Providence, Rhode Island, and chairman of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education. His judicial work was televised on the program Caught in Providence. He also made appearances in the series Parking Wars, adjudicating several cases of traffic violations. The Caught in Providence YouTube channel has 2.92 million subscribers.He served as a judge for more than 40 years.

Born on November 23, 1936 at Providence, Rhodes Island, United States, he was the second of the three sons of Antonio Caprio, an immigrant from Teano, Italy, and Filomena Caprio, an Italian American mother from Providence whose family had immigrated from Naples, Italy.

Caprio attended the Providence public schools while working as a dishwasher and shoe-shiner. He graduated from Central High School, where he won the state title in wrestling in 1953. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Providence College in 1958. After graduating, he began teaching American government at Hope High School in Providence. While teaching at Hope, Caprio attended night school at the Suffolk University School of Law in Boston. This led to him joining the legal profession. Caprio also served in the Rhode Island Army National Guard from 1954 to 1962 in the 876th Combat Engineer Battalion. During his time in the Army National Guard, Caprio was assigned to Camp Varnum in Narragansett and Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania.

Caprio was elected to the Providence City Council in 1962 and served until 1968. He ran for Attorney General of Rhode Island in 1970, but lost the general election to Republican Richard J. Israel, with Israel receiving 56.7% of the vote and Caprio 43.3%. He was elected as a delegate to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention in 1975 and was elected as a delegate to five Democratic National Conventions. He chaired the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, which controls major decisions for the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and Community College of Rhode Island. From 1985 to 2023, he served as a Providence Municipal Court Judge. Caprio was also a partner in the Coast Guard House Restaurant in Narragansett, Rhode Island. He released his book Frank Caprio Compassion in the Court on February 4, 2025.

He announced his diagnosis in December 2023 via an emotional video where he asked for prayers and expressed his determination to fight the illness. In April this year he said: “Pancreatic cancer is tough, so am I”.

Known for his humanitarianism, humility, and unwavering belief in the goodness of man, Judge Caprio became a beloved figure not only in the US but around the world, thanks to his decisions filled with empathy and justice in the courtroom.

Millions of people were touched by his unique way of judging, which often brought human empathy and understanding to the forefront.

He will be remembered not only as a respected judge, but also as a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend. His life and work inspired countless acts of kindness and compassion, which now constitute an unforgettable legacy.

In his honour, many are called to bring more kindness and compassion to the world — just as Judge Caprio himself did every day of his life.

Judge Caprio and his wife, Joyce Caprio, were married for more than 60 years. They have five children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.