It is true that in those days a person could be executed for committing adultery. But instead, Hester gets "only" a prison sentence and the scarlet letter. The major reason for this is that the court believes that there are circumstances that reduce her level of guilt.
Specifically, they decide that her husband's absence makes a big difference. It's not like she had her husband right there at home and went out and cheated on him. Instead, her husband was off somewhere and might have been dead for all she knew. So because of that, the court lets her off "easy."
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