@ParanoiaAgent
Haven't started reading yet, but I might assume that such an exaggerated scenario might be meant to reflect the way that people who are oppressed by their governments feel rather than to realistically portray an oppressive government. Like even if your government isn't giving out the death penalty for every crime, the fear and dread that permeate through your life might be so severe that you feel they might as well be. Or if you're in a situation where state authorities can inflict lethal violence against you at a moment's notice for no reason at all without facing any repercussions (see: any country that has done a genocide), that's pretty much the death penalty for any perceived crime (and sometimes the crime is just existing).
Exaggerating some aspect of something that you're trying to make a point about is actually a pretty common narrative tactic. It forces people to see the parallels between reality and what should be an unrealistic situation but ultimately might be hitting uncomfortably close to home.
But also since I haven't read this at all, I might be entirely wrong about everything.