GetMagnaCarter posted... My impression of the opening was that the Imperials were looking for Stormcloaks arresting anyone in the area, they saw the player character crossing the border (no evidence of doing anything illegal), knocked him or her out, tied up and bundled on the cart with the Stormcloaks and the horse thief. The horse thief was not with the Stormcloaks and the implication is that the player character's first sighting of Stormcloaks and horse thief was on regaining consciousness.
Yeah, they were just capturing and then killing anyone who might be a Stormcloak.
Normally theft is not an crime punished by death.