diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/logging/impl/SimpleLog.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/logging/impl/SimpleLog.java
index 2b4c1e4..5194c04 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/logging/impl/SimpleLog.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/logging/impl/SimpleLog.java
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ public class SimpleLog implements Log, Serializable {
 
     private static boolean getBooleanProperty(final String name, final boolean defaultValue) {
         final String prop = getStringProperty(name);
-        return prop == null ? defaultValue : "true".equalsIgnoreCase(prop);
+        return prop == null ? defaultValue : Boolean.parseBoolean(prop);
     }
 
     /**