I'd be worried about my reaction if someone threatened my kids in that way, but I have anger management issues, so am not the reasonable person that *Bob* may be, so therefore, my reaction may not be reasonable. I don't think I would have caved the guys head in quite so badly as the man who chased the burglar and broke his cricket bat on his head, but everyone's anger takes different lengths of time to calm down. I think it is right to punish someone who commits a revenge attack, but instant reactions to threat and fear of death by someone protecting their family are a different thing. It appears that the jury thought this was a revenge attack, rather than an instant reaction to the threat from the burglars and if that is the case, the guy is right to be punished. I'd still hate to find myself in that position, and would be worried about my own reactions.