Yes, however, at the time there was no other form of punishment. There was no jails, no lawyers or penal systems, jails, or law enforcement. The military had to deal with all of that and frankly at that time, they had better things to worry about like invading countries to deal with whom slept with whom and little johnny stole an apple so they simply killed them. Times have changed and so have punishments. Plain and simple. The book reflected the times. A little research would prove that.