The going theory is, I wouldn't be making that choice, the thief and the people of the state did by passing a law allowing me to use deadly force to stop thief.

The going theory is, I wouldn't be making that choice, the thief and the people of the state did by passing a law allowing me to use deadly force to stop thief. If I used deadly force without catching them in the act I would be subject to trial and criminal sanction. These thefts mostly effect poorer people who are least able to absorb the loss, for someone of my income, it's an inconvenience, for a poor person, it may knock them back down the economic ladder. Something to note, the US existed in a space for much of its existence particularly out here in the West, where the nearest law enforcement might be hours away, where I am in my county, the county seat is a half a days ride by horse - and our county is a PLSS county, so its not particularly large, they get larger - because of that, we have a permissive culture in allowing people to defend themselves and their property from others, because once its gone, you will likely never get it back again. This only changed with the invention of the automobile and the two way radio, but the culture was formed before that, and culture adapts to technology slowly.