When a Miami judge recognized a defendant in her courtroom as a childhood friend, the burglary suspect broke down sobbing.

Courtroom cameras revealed the moment when Judge Mindy Glazer announced that Arthur Booth had been “the nicest kid in middle school” and they used to play football together. Through his sobs, Booth could not have heard his old friend wonder aloud how things could have gone so wrong.

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But this pitiful scene was the catalyst for Booth to regain his pride and launch a happy new beginning.

Ten months later, when he finished his sentence and left jail, Glazer was waiting for him alongside his family with a welcome hug and a promise that she would help him get his life back on track.

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“You’re going to do something good for somebody else,” Judge Glazer told him Booth as he was released. “This is a group effort to see you succeed. Don’t let us down.”

(WATCH the video below from Inside Edition

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