Aug. 30 - The Kindest Judge

Day 241 of a year of Kindness

This weekend it seemed like everyone in Rhode Island was talking about Judge Frank Caprio, who died at 88. He was considered to be “the kindest judge in the world.”

Judge Caprio, who served on the bench for 38 years, gained fame through his television show, Caught in Providence. His rulings often went viral because of the kind and compassionate way he conducted his courtroom.

Tom Joad, a writer on Substack, wrote a beautiful essay about Judge Caprio's kindness. I read it, and was so moved by it, that I bought Tom three cups of coffee. 

He poignantly captured how one man’s belief in kindness changed the world around him.

“In a system designed to reduce human beings to case numbers and violation codes, Frank Caprio insisted on being what every human being should be: present, patient, generous, and kind. He saw the story behind the ticket, the circumstances behind the citation, the life behind the violation.He treated his courtroom not as a place for punishment, but as a place where one person could be kind to another. It was not revolutionary. It was not even complicated. It was simple. And that is why it felt radical.

Frank Caprio was willing to be kind when the world expected him to be harsh. He gave room for stories to unfold. He reminded everyone, defendants, viewers, fellow judges, that this is how people should treat each other: with kindness, with patience, with an understanding that we are all struggling through life and deserve gentleness when we stumble.”

Tom considers that Judge Caprio's legacy offers all of us a roadmap to be better.

"This is how change happens, I think. Not through grand gestures or sweeping reforms, but through small acts of human kindness repeated daily until they become habit, until they become character, until they become the standard we hold ourselves to."

Science of Kindness: Despite the misconception that “kindness is a weakness,” it is just the opposite. Research reveals that kindness is a source of strength. True power is the ability to help people.