TR,
Were you to go out tonight, fully intending to park in a resident's parking space, and if you then then did so, and if some unbalanced berk with a record of firearms offences as long as my arm decided to shoot you, stone dead, because the parking space was outside his house, I would not be rushing to say: "Ah, but had TR stayed at home, he'd have been alright" or "he went out intending to commit an offence - violent criminals deserve all they get", nor even "he was only a Bluntie (albeit ex-aircrew), who cares?"
1) It's not the householders place to act as judge, jury or executioner - let alone all three.
2) It's all about proportionality. Barras was a child and would have been obviously a child as he begged (sobbing, apparently) for his life. He was not a violent criminal. He was running away.
3) It has nothing to do with whether or not Barras was a Pikey! (oops!)
4) Even criminals deserve protection against Martin's sort, as his previous behaviour ought to indicate.