I have little sympathy for the dead guy. But I also want to see the perpetrators do some serious jail time. As a society, we shouldn't be sending a message that vigilante capital punishment is a justifiable response to a slippery slope of non-lethal crimes.
Why didn't the father think of all those rational and logical arguments when he was running after a moving car with his children inside and all sorts of fears and thoughts of paranoia running through his head? Maybe he should've pulled that man from the car and politely asked his intentions. Was he just looking to steal a car, or does he have a thing for little kids? Once the father weighed the answers and posed follow up questions, then he should've called his pastor to ask what he should do along with two character references the car thief/kidnapper provides. That's what we should all do as a society.
Or maybe, get out of your ivory tower and realize there is so much more going on in this situation than what we should or shouldn't be as a society. Because as a father, had someone stolen a car with my kids in it and I had caught him...