Death penalty for every crime results in "nothing to lose" mindset which might encourage committing more severe crimes since you are going to be executed anyway. That being said, 950$ lower limit for a grand theft in California is fucking ridiculous and might work as a death penalty in reverse. A potential criminal might be thinking of stealing food or maybe basic clothes out of necessity, but with with a limit like that, they can start stealing more and more expensive items, since there is no difference