Woman gets fined $400 for traffic violations. Then, the judge gives her money after hearing her story.
Penalties are meant to be harsh to make sure that people who break the law learn from their mistakes, but sometimes judges also need to act with compassion considering the situation of the defendants. There's a good chance you have come across Providence's Municipal Court Chief Judge Frank Caprio's wholesome videos online. In one such clip, he was moved by the story of Medina Bonafacia, whose car was booted with a device to prevent her from driving for violating multiple traffic rules. For these, she was slapped with a $400 fine.
Seeing the distraught look on her face Caprio couldn't help but ask her what the matter was. That's when a teary-eyed Bonafacia shared her life story and revealed that after being denied accommodation by relatives for a long time, she was forced to live in her car. But since her car also got booted, she was left homeless.
She added that she was working and that she had just secured a job at a restaurant. However, being homeless and tackling hurdles always comes in the way of leading a normal life. "Well, you've gone through a lot based on what you're telling me; how far did you go in school?" asked Caprio. She said she had just studied up to 12th grade, before quitting due to a violent relationship. She also mentioned that she is on the autism spectrum.
The judge then asked Bonafacia how much she could pay, she said, "I have like five dollars in my pocket." With the motivation to help, Caprio gave a judgment that left her speechless. He ruled that $300 would be paid from the ‘Philomena Fund,’ which is named after his mother and is used by the court for people in need.
The amount was enough for the woman to get her car back and all she could say was, "Thank you so much, thank you." The judge then went on to ask if she had any money to eat. She replied that she'd only been eating one meal a day, which was free as she had been working at the restaurant. "Everybody deserves a chance in life, you know, it's easy to be very strict and say 'Well I'm sorry that's it.' I try to take people's personal situations into account," Caprio said to the defendant."I think you've had some challenges that are very difficult to face and you've been very forthright and very honest about them and that's why I'm trying to help you," he added.
Caprio then said that she would be getting an additional $50 from the fund so that she could eat. Just when she was about to leave, a stranger in the courtroom approached the bench and said, "I play in restaurants and I get free food,” while offering her a free meal. She was simply taken aback when Caprio said, "You understand and this gentleman is extraordinarily generous so we want to thank you for that."
