Yakone's trial

"URN"

- The overwhelming amount of testimony and evidence has convinced this council that Yakone is one of these unique benders and he exploited his ability to commit these heinous crimes. We find Yakone guilty of all charges and sentence him to life in prison.

The trial of Yakone was the proceeding in which the crime lord Yakone was sentenced to life in prison for using the outlawed ability of bloodbending to commit crimes against the citizens of Republic City. The criminal attempted to escape, only to be defeated by Avatar Aang, who removed Yakone's bending.

History
Prior to this trial, Avatar Aang and Chief Toph Beifong had been trying to convict Yakone for years on multiple accounts, but to no avail. In 128 ASC, Yakone was tried once more, this time with dozens of witnesses accusing him of using the outlawed art of bloodbending. The testimony showed that there was enough evidence from apparent victims to lock Yakone away, but the jurors were unsure due to the fact that all of Yakone's crimes were on dates on which there was no full moon.



The verdict was finally delivered by Councilman Sokka, the chairman and Southern Water Tribe representative during that time. He and the other council members decided that, judging by their life experiences, such as Toph inventing metalbending and the rare abilities of Combustion Man, Yakone was one of these "unique benders", and was able to bloodbend without a full moon, using his ability to commit the crimes for which he had been accused. Therefore, Yakone was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. However, before he could be detained, the criminal demonstrated his powerful skills and subdued every person in the courtroom, including Avatar Aang. He used his skills to draw Toph over and unlock his handcuffs, prompting his escape after knocking the viewers unconscious.



He fled City Hall on an ostrich horse-drawn carriage, only for Aang to enter the Avatar State, recover, and chase him down, breaking his carriage with airbending. Yakone tried to bloodbend Aang to death, but the latter's Avatar State was reactivated, enabling him to immobilize Yakone into an earth shield. The Avatar then removed Yakone's bending abilities.

Aftermath
Avatar Korra, Aang's successor, would come to envision this event while meditating. She would also face Yakone's son, Tarrlok, who possessed bloodbending abilities, just like his father. She would later learn that Amon, born Noatak, was Yakone's first born son and also a bloodbender.

Trivia

 * The removal of Yakone's bending was the first known instance in which energybending occurred without pillars of light shining from the two participants' bodies, unlike when Aang energybent Phoenix King Ozai during the Battle at Wulong Forest.
 * This is the second time Aang is known to have used energybending.
 * Yakone's attempted escape from City Hall on an ostrich horse-drawn carriage is reminiscent of John Wilkes Booth's escape from Ford's Theatre on horse-back.