[BobL]

“Chasing them down is double murder anywhere.”

I agree...but they still would get a pass if it’s me on the jury. Assuming the guy was minding his own business when these two sons butted in and scared the crap out of him...that, to me, makes a “rational response” more difficult, and therefore I give him more leeway.

Bottom line - if you want to jack someone, you have to be prepared for a non-happy ending.

[cripplecreek]

I agree...but they still would get a pass if it’s me on the jury.

Depending on the testimony I may as well.

There was a case in Detroit a few years ago where a guy chased a thief down and cornered him in an alley and killed him. The judge was as lenient as possible and only gave him 3 years. Unfortunately the guy chose to go without a jury trial and the federal sentencing guidelines are where he picked up 15 more years.

The guy's house had been broken into 3 times in a week. He came home from work and found 3 men breaking into his house a 4th time so naturally he went after them. He caught the slow one who chose to ask "What are you going to do, shoot me?" and laughed. The guy shot him 3 times.

The judge in the case likened it to a rancher killing predators threatening his herd.

[samtheman]

Post #15 is the best summing up on this thread. And I second the motion... put me on the jury.