Types of crimes in Rome were treated very severely. However, each was treated very differently. For example, the punishment for selling underweight bread was treated with a fine, but murder was treated by being sent to the arena. This may seem like a privilege, but the arena was similar to being sentenced to death. This is where the roman crime and punishment system gets clever:
The arena earned a large amount of money from spectators who
enjoyed watching this cruelty
Many of the criminals were sentenced to fight against wild animals, which killed them off very quickly.
Gladiators also fought at funerals, and there masters were paid a sum of money for this to happen. However, this was not usually where a criminal was sent, and more likely to be for a volunteer.
Arson was punishable by being whipped and burned at the stake. From this, we can infer that this is where Britain in the recent centuries has used the punishment of death for murder, and other exchanges.