BEFORE calling it a day yesterday, I opened my Instagram account and the very first thing on my feed was a prayer request by a man I had admired since the earliest days of my presence on social media. More than a decade ago, I stumbled upon his videos on Facebook, and since then, he became more than a public figure to me, he became a symbol of justice wrapped in kindness.
He spoke softly from his hospital bed and with eyes that still shone with warmth, he said: “Last year I asked you to pray for me and it’s very obvious that you did, because I came through a very difficult period. Unfortunately I’ve had a setback and I’m back at the hospital. Now, I am coming to you again and asking you to remember me in your prayers once more, and so I ask you again if it’s not too much that you can remember me in your prayers. I’m a great believer in the power of prayers. I think the Almighty above is looking over us. So, remember me please.”
This reel ended and my eyes welled up with tears. I sat there and felt like he was offering his final message to the world, not in fear, but in humility, gratitude and grace. My heart whispered to the heavens, “Oh Lord, ease his pain and bless him.”
This morning, my very first notification was a post that confirmed what I had silently feared: Judge Frank Caprio had passed away. Stillness came over me. As I write this eulogy, I am deeply moved and filled with grief and I feel like a gentle light in this harsh world has dimmed.
Judge Frank Caprio wasn’t just a judge. He was a teacher of empathy, a rare human being who made us believe that justice could be gentle and still be just. He made us believe that change can happen, that you don’t have to wait for the world to shift, you just have to take the first step.
Many across the globe might have encountered him, even if only once, through the now-iconic series “Caught in Providence,” which aired nationally from 2018 to 2020 and earned several Daytime Emmy nominations. I found myself in tears through almost every episode of the show, but none moved me more than the one where a frail old man was fined while rushing his ailing son to the hospital. But more than the accolades, it was his humanity that drew people in. His courtroom was more than simply a legal setting. It was a place where people were heard with compassion. A place which served as a reminder of how the value of justice can be practiced and manifested by fairness, decency and respect for human dignity.
I was impressed not just by his legal expertise, while watching his videos, but also by his smile and when his eyes softened as someone recounted their troubled experience. When compassion was needed, he bent the rules without violating any laws. I never found his words rehearsed. He spoke from a heart that had lived a life rooted in decency.
Born on November 25, 1936, in an Italian-American neighbourhood of Federal Hill in Providence, Judge Frank Caprio was called the “nicest judge in the world” . But this eulogy is not meant to be a Wikipedia entry about his life. This is my attempt to remember what he believed justice was and to honour the soul behind the robe or should I say a cape? Judge Frank wore his robe as a cape of a hero who was on a quest to save souls.
Describing the day he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in one heartfelt video, Judge Frank, with his voice quivered, but his message was as clear and unwavering as a lighthouse for people battling storms said, “I woke up one day and was told I had pancreatic cancer. So what do you do in that situation? You don’t give up. So I tell you, enjoy every minute of your life. Be close to your family. Be close to your friends. And have compassion and understanding of other people,” he said.
His words now echo louder than ever. “You don’t give up.” These words carried a message from him that even in the face of mortality, none should retreat into self-pity. Instead, he taught us to turn pain into purpose. He removed fears through faith. He caressed suffering and changed them into a message of hope for others.
Judge Frank Caprio’s courtroom was a place where law met compassion. A room where he never forgot that behind every violation or traffic ticket there was a human story. His asked simple questions, about family, work, health or hardship, which revealed that justice was not merely about punishment. Its about understanding. People entered his courtroom nervous, but often left smiling, sometimes even in tears of relief, not because they escaped the law, but because they were treated as human beings worthy of kindness.
In India, the very phrase “court-kachehri ke chakkar” has become synonymous with suffering. It is an evident reality that litigation exacts an emotional, financial and psychological toll on ordinary citizens, in addition to the complexities of legal proceedings. Courtrooms here are places people avoid at all costs, unless dragged by compulsion. The delays are legendary with cases stretching over decades. Generations waiting for verdicts that never arrive. With an atmosphere that is intimidating, the language is inaccessible and the process labyrinthine. Instead of justice offering closure, it often becomes another wound.
While Judge Caprio’s approach made people believe in justice as a healing force, the Indian system has left many believing that justice is for the powerful, or at best, for those who can endure an exhausting cycle of appearances, adjournments, and paperwork. His smile from the bench symbolised dignity and fairness, in contrast, here, the very thought of kachehri ke chakkar is enough to fill the common man with despair. And yet, Judge Frank’s example leaves behind an urgent lesson for us that justice need not be stripped of kindness. Courts do not lose authority when judges show empathy, infact they gain legitimacy. Judge Caprio’s legacy reminds us that the human heart is the most powerful gavel.
He taught us that being just doesn’t mean being cold, that a judge’s gavel can be firm without being cruel. That dignity doesn’t have to be demanded, it can be offered. Today, the world has lost a judge, but more painfully, it has lost a gentle human spirit.
Judge Frank used his power and authority with grace. He showed patience, kindness and compassion to a world where chaos was the new norm. I pray to the Creator, most Merciful, to cover him with mercy. I pray and hope that his life will continue to inspire those who dare to choose kindness in a world that often forgets its value.
Judge Frank Caprio, rest in peace. You will always be remembered and your legacy is not in verdicts delivered, but in hearts touched. And mine is one of them.
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Sajida A Zubair is an educator, freelance writer, and documentary scriptwriter. She is also a Counseling Faculty member at IPERC. She can be reached at sajizuby@gmail.com
