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

History
In 128 ASC, an underground malefactor named Yakone was tried for his criminal acts upon Republic City and its citizens. He had been accused on multiple accounts, but was cleared each time. Avatar Aang and Chief Toph Beifong had been trying to convict Yakone for years, but to no avail. Five years before the birth of his son Tarrlok, Yakone was tried once more, this time with dozens of witnesses. 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.

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 in Wulong Forest.
 * This is the second time Aang is known to have used energybending.