[infrec]

I think you are missing the context of the question (mpyne's comment). If the max that will logically be handed down is way below the summed offenses, why is it being used? It seems like it's a threatening tactic and yes, draconian.

[rdouble]

But how else would you do it? You still have to let the guy know what the max sentence could be, whether it seems threatening or not.