Eddie,

It's not that anyone, even a low life who commits burglary, deserves to die. My issue is that we've devised a flawed criminal justice system that does nothing to stop it, and therein creates additional incentive to keep on burglarizing as long as crime pays. So it's not just my $500 deductable (home and car); it's every victim of the perp until he stops. And according to LE, most don't stop until caught and jailed for some higher crime. Because this type of crime actually pays, perps don't stop. LE says as much as 90% of the burglaries are committed by the same small group of repeat offenders. The remainder are isolated instances of opportunity, usually by juvenile or teen offenders.

The best reason for shooting burglars is that it is the one reaction that by definition stops the offender's recidivism. He's done repeating that offense. Does the punishment fit the crime? Not if it's his first or second theft, but is he entitled to steal dozens or hundreds of times without penalty? That's basically how the justice system works.

FP,

I don't know with the Sheriff's deputy didn't come out to your house; he came to my place. Maybe they don't care for your internet persona (?) jk. Your idea of indenture and payback for crime is the only alternative that actually makes sense for society, short of killing the perp. Giving him 3 hots and a cot in jail puts the perp on the public dole, and we know that you disfavor anyone going on the dole.

Regarding the death penalty as a deterent, you're mostly right. It doesn't deter murder because most murders are crimes of passion, therefore emotion and not logic is in charge of the operating plan. The same is likely true for drug addled tweakers, where chemicals are in charge of operations. I'm not advocating for the death penalty because I understand that it's not a deterent. I simply think that if otherwise potential victims choose to shoot and kill intruders/burglars, they are preventing all the future crimes that perp will commit. Because we all know that criminal justice won't be stopping him.

The flaw is the justice system that doesn't dispense justice and by poor design encourages further law breaking by making crime pay. The system is flawed when the deputies arrest homeowners who kill burglars and intruders, and try and then jail them. A reasonable justice system would be for the deputies to show up after the fact and call the coroner to fetch the body, ask if the homeowner is OK and do they need any help with clean up, and then thank him for making the country a safer place by removing a proven menace.

So this isn't about a death penalty via the disfunctional justice system. It's about not prosecuting citizens who in the course of protecting themselves and their property kill criminals, thereby preventing all the future crimes that statistics say repeat offenders will commit.

Todd,

There is no funding alternative that will ever put a cop on every block. It's just not feasible. So it's not about taxes and funding LE. This issue keeps coming up, and the flaw IMO is that since LE and Justice cannot prevent crime, and our system all but encourages it, we could at least shave a bit of that encouragement off by not prosecuting citizens who kill criminals, even if it was a garden-ripe tomato, which is a pretty high value target here in western WA. Then those perps who aren't wigged out on drugs could weight their alternatives if they have half a brain, which is probably only a few, but at least those would be spared getting shot.

Art,

Never underestimate the usefulness of backhoes. But they might get stuck in the mud going after gooey ducks.

Sg