In a rare display of compassion, a kindhearted judge showed compassion by waiving the debt from parking tickets, a grieving widow had accrued when she shared her story in a courtroom.
When Debra Neves stepped into the courtroom of Frank Caprio, chief municipal judge in Providence, Rhode Island, she experienced a rare show of compassion from a judge.
Caprio’s judicial work is filmed for a television program called “Caught in Providence,” he shares in the segment how sometimes people in his courtroom need someone to listen to their plea.
“Occasionally someone comes before me who just needs to vent,” says Frank. “That was the case with Debra Neves. She had a lot to get off her chest and I was there to listen.”
Debra won the judge’s compassion, when she shared about how her husband had got a handful of parking tickets before he passed away.
The first one was accrued when they pulled their car up right in front of their house for him to have easy access to the vehicle since he was disabled.
The second time, a ticket was put on their car while he was still in the car, waiting for her to come out of the bank.
Debra was going to take care of the tickets, but sadly her husband ended up in the hospital and she had to put all her efforts in taking care of him, as he was terminally ill.
The tickets had piled up, and so her car got booted, she had to pay off her ticket fees which brought her to Frank Caprio’s courtroom for her to settle it and get her car back.
The video shows her telling her story and she gets emotional while recalling the death of her husband and how good a man he was.
“First of all, there’s one thing that is abundantly clear and that is that you loved him deeply and he loved you obviously,” says Judge Caprio.
Judge Caprio showed kindness to Debra, and waived off the ticket fees and cost for the boot, so that she could get relief during her time of mourning.
We are proud of kind and compassionate judges like him who serve the people with dignity.