Judge Solomon - Judgement of Solomon

Judgement of Solomon

Solomon is noted for his verdict in the war crimes trial of President Robert L. Booth, which became known as the "Judgement of Solomon." The story The Cursed Earth told of how President Robert L. Booth, the last president of the United States, initiated a global nuclear war in 2070 which left much of the world in ruins. In the aftermath, the constitutional government was overthrown and power was seized by the Street Judges (formerly an elite police force within the Justice Department). Booth was found guilty, but the judges were unable to decide what to do with him. Ordinary life imprisonment seemed too good for him, but they could not bring themselves to execute America's last president. It was Solomon who hit on the solution: a sentence of "living death" – suspended animation in a cryogenic chamber. Booth was sentenced to 100 years in suspended animation, buried deep within the vaults of Fort Knox. This inventive compromise sealed Judge Solomon's reputation for wisdom. (Writer Pat Mills named the character after the King Solomon of the Old Testament.) Origins later confirmed that the intent of this was that future generations would sentence Booth properly with the benefit of hindsight.

It was later revealed in Origins that Booth – released early – found the Judgement laughable, rhetorically asking "was that supposed to be some kind of terrible punishment?" (When Booth was unexpectedly revived after thirty years, Judge Dredd sentenced him to hard labour for life, cleaning up the mess he had made of America.)