No premeditation about it. If the perp has no business being in my house, I will kill him. To allow him to wander around, hurt, maim, kill my housemates or me is preposterous. If I can possibly kill him, I'll do it. He will not be a repeat offender when I get done with him.
Your story reminds me of a attorney boss I once had. Huge liberal on nearly every issue ... except this: He had two guns in his home and told me on a number of occasions this (closely paraphrasing):
“If I ever catch a burglar, unless he gets away so fast I can’t shoot or perhaps if he immediately prostrates himself in surrender, I will kill him. I will make sure he’s dead. I will tell the police what I need to tell them, even if it’s not the absolute truth. Because if I leave him alive, just watch: He’ll sue me — even from jail, perhaps — and force me to spend all kinds of money just to defeat his garbage lawsuit (or, worse, my homeowner’s insurance lawyers will toss him some Go Away Money, then hike my premiums).”
I always thought he had a point. I think about him sometimes and wonder if the gun-grabbing policies of the politicians for whom he invariably votes have ever prompted him to vote conservative for a change.
Just sayin, depending on where you are, an unfriendly prosecutor and an unfriendly jury will take advantage of a homeowners predisposition to kill (if they can find evidence of this), as opposed to your natural instinct to survive, which is triggered in the life threatening situation.
I am not criticizing your comment. But I do not recommend airing your comments publically where they could be used against you in court. Advice I would give anyone who makes the decision to keep a gun for self defense.
Best Regards