I flung a booger in the countess' general direction.

Maybe the generic Evil Dragon Cult had you framed because they thought you might be the Dragonborn?

Given the political and social climate(civil war and all), I don't see why people are saying that a scheduled execution narrows down what we could have done to get in that position. It's still as open ended as a general prison sentence(just more hardcoe, but it is the land of the Nords, after all).
So, maybe you stole some bread to feed your family, maybe you eloped with the queen of Solitude, maybe you were just wandering around and looked suspicious to either the traditionalists or the imperialized Nords. All could warrant execution, depending on the culture doling out the harshness.

you stole a loaf of bread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RMkjFizGlU

Post limit.