78 year old arrested for murder of burglar, *Update: Cleared of all charge but still faces strife,

[palou]

Mr Puggsly said:

palou said:

I think, it would require a reasonable threat to his life to justify the kill - depending on the details of what happened, I do believe that this should be illegal. Not a murder charge, but a charge nonetheless - perhaps a fine would do. A burglar is highly unlikely to attempt to kill/physically harm a cooperative victim, since that's not in his interest - if nothing more than as a security measure for the homeowner himself, engaging in fights against the thief should be discouraged.

 

"One suspect, armed with a screwdriver, forced the elderly man into his kitchen when he discovered them inside his home in the Hither Green area, while the other suspect went upstairs, the force added. 

A struggle ensued between the homeowner and one of the men"

I really hope you're speaking as someone that didn't read the article. If this is the story, then its self defense.

I speak of law not as a form of punishment, here, but rather as a deterrent for poor choices. Just as you need to deter the burglar from entering the home, you also need to deter the homeowner from engaging in the incredibly dangerous decision of fighting back against the burglar. In terms of culpability, no, I don't think that the homeowner did anything *bad* by defending himself when he was very justifiably frightened.