He just died tired....
Seems to be a rather excessive retribution for stealing tobacco products, in any quantity. There are a LOT of things left out of the narrative, that changes the whole coloration of the justice of the matter.
Nobody has yet much spoken of the merits of the case, one way or the other.
BTW, to provide a scale for the first impression his size, which was listed as 6'4" 292 lbs, would have created Lou Ferrigno played the Hulk at 6'5" 285 lbs. Brown probably wasn't as buff as 'green,' but he was no pile of lard.