Yes thieves are the scum of the earth. My son had his bike stolen from our front yard. The laws though are very sticky on defending property. They were not defending their persons. The thieves could claim they saw the bike and was just going to roll it to their door and ask them if they knew who left it. But they were attacked. The homeowners cannot claim self defense. Now in Texas, but only at night, you can shoot to kill to prevent the taking of your property by thieves. You can even chase them off your property and down the street and then shoot them so they don't get away with your property. If they drop your property and continue running away, you no longer have the right to kill them.