Exo 22:2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
He might have waited for them to break in his house but he did not know they would or when and if they would be armed. The adrenaline would have a powerful effect on a 65 year old man. I don’t think it was 1rst degree murder.
He had them on CCTV.
He watched them on video walking around his home.
He could see they were unarmed.
I don’t think it was 1rst degree murder.
He had an unarmed teenage girl bleeding out on his floor. Rather than call 911, he took the time to put her in a tarp, then went to another room and then leaned in close, called her a "b!tch" and fired a single shot at point blank range into her head.
If that is not murder in the first degree, then there is no such thing as murder in the first degree.
Here's a better translation (NIV), “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed.
Guy laid a trap for them during the daytime. Under Law of Moses, he's up for the big jump.