The famous American judge named Francesco “Frank” Caprio paid a fine for a man who came to the court after walking five miles with less than a dollar in his bank.
A jurist who has the authority over the municipal court of Providence as the Chief Judge in Rhode Island, he has also worked as the chairman of the Board of Governors for higher education.
He is also popular for his well-known ABC-affiliated Television series, Caught in Province, which displays real people who attend their case hearing in his court. Judge Caprio hears all the cases including parking, traffic, and arraignments for criminal offenses. In his court, everyone met with compassion and kindness all the time.
A couple of years before, a parking violation case involved a man named Daniel Murray came, where he had seven violations in his name, of which five were about parking tickets.
When the hearing finished, Daniel who reached the municipal court in Rhode Island after walking all the way from East Providence, was ordered by the court to pay the amount of $250 as a fine for all the violations he did. But, he was not able to pay the fine because he was going through a major financial crisis at that time.
“Thank you, Your Honor, but I would like to ask if there is any flexibility possible with me paying the money back,” he said to Judge Caprio.
“One quick question, Your Honor,” he said, “is there any way – can that be deferred a little bit? I’m just in a bit of a financial situation.”
When Judge Frank Caprio asked the motorist how much money he could pay as a fine, to which Murrey replied that he didn’t have a single dollar in his bank account.
“I have 92 cents in my account,” Murrey said. “I just walked from East Providence this morning to get over here.”
After listening to him, the judge asked him if he could book an Uber to go baanywayis Place in East Providence, Murrey said,
I have no money. Not right now.”
He also shared that he didn’t even have a stable job and was currently running a youth lacrosse program for some time.
The Judge, who is known for his acts of kindness and being merciful towards people, said he would pay Murray’s fine from his funds, The Philomena Fund,” named in memorial of his late mother.
Then he gave $25 dollar to the young man from his own fund by saying that he wants him to take an Uber to come back to his home.
“I want you to take an Uber so you don’t have to walk back,” the judge told to Murray.
“Thank you very much. You saved me a great deal of time today – and money,” Murray thanked him with so much respect.
And then, Judge Frank announced that he would like to pay Murray’s penalty amount from his fund money.
“We’re gonna help you out with these fines,” Judge Caprio announced. “We’re going to use this fund to pay for your fine, so you’re gonna be all set.”
Murray took a moment to accept this situation as he was hearing something, he didn’t expect, and then after a while, he said with gratitude,
“Wow, thank you so much. That’s more than generous.”
“You got 25 bucks to take an Uber. And you got this now. Let’s hope things turn out for you,” the judge said while adding that there was only one condition left on which he could let him go without paying the amount of fine.
“Wait a minute. That’s only half the battle. Right. That’s our part, you have to do your part,” the chief judge told him. “You have to help somebody else. There are an awful lot of people out there who have similar problems, and you are going to be in a situation to help them.”
He further added. “Don’t forget them. Remember how you felt? So you have to give back.”
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