From what I've read, he had cameras up around the house, they captured footage of the kids "casing" the place. On the day in which the incident occurred, he purposefully moved his pickup out of the drive to make it appear that he wasn't at home... Ergo, the kids were trying to break in when he wasn't there, specifically b/c they didn't want a physical confrontation.

Were they right? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Did they deserve to die for what they were doing? Absolutely not. That's my point.

These were kids, yes kids, who have reached a much higher level of reasoning/decision making than the proverbial kindergartener in the candy store that steals the candy. Unfortunately for society though, we've slowed down the maturation process so much that this kind of reasoning doesn't develop as quickly as other cognitive reasoning. I would bet they had never really had to face the consequences of their actions. If they've never been taught right or wrong, yes, they should understand the concept, but they had never really had to "apply" that concept to the real world. They likely missed a lot of the lessons we all got as toddlers... So their first lesson turns out to be their last, b/c it was fatal. Now, do I think these kids were little angels that would be shooting stars in society? No. Do I think they were super special snowflakes who were going to be community leaders and community builders? Probably not. Do I think they might have had a chance to redeem themselves and become functioning members of society who can contribute? Guess we'll never know, will we?

Here's a link to the guy that got sentenced to 13 yrs in prison for robbing a burger king, and never went! But guess what? During that time, he's been a productive member of society who had done nothing else wrong. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-served-prison-term-thankful-home-article-1.1781131