The crimes punishable by death are murder, armed robbery, weapons possession and smuggling, treason, acts which may endanger the independence or unity of the state, waging war against the state, apostasy and prostitution.

The crimes punishable by death are murder, armed robbery, weapons possession and smuggling, treason, acts which may endanger the independence or unity of the state, waging war against the state, apostasy and prostitution.
In accordance with Shari'a law, the Criminal Act provides for physical punishments including flogging, amputation, stonings, and crucifixion – in this case the public display of a body after execution.
Under article 146 of Sudan 's 1991 Penal Code, "Whoever commits the offence of adultery shall be punished with:
a) execution by stoning when the offender is married (muhsan);
b) One hundred lashes of the whip when the offender is not married (non-muhsan);
c) The male non-married offender may be punished, in addition to whipping, with expatriation for one year".
Article 171 of the penal code states that whoever commits theft (alsargha alhadiyha), may be sentenced with amputation of the right hand if the value of the stolen items is equal to or more than the value of 4.25 grams of gold.
Hands Off Cain compiled reports of 19 executions in 1999, including 10 by crucifixion.
These punishments are inconsistent with international human rights law under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that Sudan has ratified, and the United Nations' Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment (CAT) to which the Government of Sudan is a signatory.
The 1998 Constitution of Sudan, at Part II on Freedoms, Rights and Responsibilities, makes provision for the death penalty. Article 33 states: “1. The death penalty may not be imposed except as chastisement or punishment for the most serious very serious crimes in accordance with law” and “2. A sentence of death shall not be imposed by crimes committed by persons below eighteen years-of-age and shall not be carried out on pregnant or lactating women, except two years after the birth, or on those above the age of seventy except when they have committed crimes of qisas or hadud.”
Special Courts were established in May 2001 to deal with offences such as armed robbery, murder, weapons possession and smuggling. The Special Courts consist of two military judges and one civil judge. Lawyers are usually forbidden to stand before the Special Court and plaintiffs are given the right to appeal only when sentenced to death or amputation. Under such circumstances, the appeal must be made within seven days of the sentence to the District Chief of Justice, whose decision is final. There have been reports of people executed the day after sentencing.
According to SOAT, the Sudanese Organisation Against Torture, between March 2003 and March 2004, 71 people were condemned to death, at least 10 of whom have been executed. Sudan carried out at least 13 executions in 2003.
Sudan has an authoritarian government in which all effective political power is in the hands of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Bashir who has controlled the Government since he led a military coup in 1989, with the instigation and support of the fundamentalist National Islamic front (NIF). The country is emerging from a 21-year civil war between the mainly Muslim north and the Animist and Christian south. The conflict is said to have cost the lives of 1.5 million to 2 million people. After two years of talks the government and rebels signed a comprehensive peace deal in January 2005.
But while the government and southern rebels inched closer to peace, fighting broke out in the western region of Darfur in early 2003 when rebels seeking greater autonomy began an insurrection. More than 1.5 million people have fled their homes and tens of thousands of people have been killed, the BBC reported. Pro-government Arab militias are accused of carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab groups in the region.
In July 2004, UN Special Rapporteur on Summary Executions Asma Jahangir said she saw "strong indications of crimes against humanity" during a 13-day visit to the Darfur region. Human Rights Watch has accused the Sudanese government of sending its troops to support the Arab militias against the ethnic Fur population.