How do you keep a Jedi in jail?

Question

I know the traditional view on the Jedi gone bad is to either:

Let them rule the galaxy or
Cut off their head

But how would I go about constructing a prison to store my errant Jedi in while they are being rehabilitated? I'd like to deal with the confinement that might be required for minor infractions such as using a light saber to open the baked beans all the way up to the dark and scary ones like having a girlfriend and letting the dark lord mess with your head till your willing to cut off Samuel L. Jackson's hand.

What are you asking this for exactly ? Are you writing a novel ? Are you playing a RPG? These details might help some of us answer — Kalissar, Aug 07 '13 at 08:00
What is yoor opinion on the expanded universe? See the Ysalamiri from Myrkr. The basically disable all force use. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ysalamiri#Ysalamiri. It sure seems like it would make a nice prison planet. — Zoredache, Aug 07 '13 at 08:14
Just dump them on a forgotten planet / moon. Make sure there isn't enough technology for them to escape and they will be there until they die. — Jack B Nimble, Aug 07 '13 at 15:26
How about constant distraction or sensory overload to prevent a prisoner from concentrating? Something like sleep deprivation + flashing lights + headphones that scream every five seconds? Not really Star Wars style, but such techniques have been used in other universes to confine {wizards, telepaths, teleporters}. — Beta, Aug 07 '13 at 16:11
Possibly related: If a Jedi knight were frozen in carbonite, would they be able to use their Force powers? — gnovice, Aug 07 '13 at 17:16
@Beta At that point it seems more humane to just kill them.. — Brendan Long, Aug 08 '13 at 03:38
As long as you call them Jedi, asking them politely to stay in the designated prison area should suffice. Anything else means they aren't "Jedi" anymore — Zommuter, Aug 08 '13 at 10:04

score 13 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 20 '16 at 02:17

13

Use Ysalamiri somehow.

Ysalamiri were furry, lizard-like tree-dwellers about 50 centimeters in length native to the planet Myrkr, most known for their ability to repel the Force by creating a Force-neutral bubble.

A Force cage wouldn't work for all Jedi because of the possibility of a Jedi teleport.

edited Feb 20 '16 at 02:17

answered Aug 07 '13 at 12:39

James Christopher

1,383
8
11

13

oh God, can Jedi teleport, star wars expanded universe is more and more like dragon ball z... or is it in the same universe?? – jsedano Aug 07 '13 at 14:03
3

@anakata - Teleporting was a rare ability. In addition, using Ysalamiri would negate this ability when used in conjunction with a force cage, as they could not access their force powers. And no, it's hardly like Dragonball Z. – The Fallen Aug 07 '13 at 14:10
Teleportation is irrelevant once you are in a Force Cage! It negates your forcwe abilities 100%. How to captrure somebody using the force is a ddifferent matter. Blackmail, hostage situation, poison of food ( LARGE quantities of poison as jedi can purge poison ), using Force surpressive beasts to attack the Jedi etc, etc. – Cherubel Dec 17 '14 at 11:35
Keep in mind Ysalamiri are no longer canon, the Force Cage I mentioned in my answer below is :) – Brian Deragon Jan 05 '17 at 15:10

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 07 '13 at 12:42

The Rakata had a prison planet, Belsavis that had something along the lines of stasis technology for the more dangerous force using criminals.

In the Old Republic Era, these prisons were used to imprison the Sith Dread Masters for at least several years during the war.

score 7 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 20 '16 at 01:14

7

Obi-Wan was held captive in a Geonosian containment field during Episode II. This is a pretty good canon example of how to hold a Jedi (or Sith) captive. It seemed to do the trick just fine. Not sure how Force teleportation would affect this though.

answered Feb 20 '16 at 01:14

Brian Deragon

338
2
7

score 6 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 07 '13 at 13:55

6

If you end goal is restraining them, I would think encasement in Carbonite would work pretty well. It keeps them technically alive but fully immobile and unconscious so they aren't able to use their powers.

However, if your plan is to jail them so they can be rehabilitated having them frozen isn't going to work out to well.

answered Aug 07 '13 at 13:55

Alan Barber

2,411
19
17

2

Note that there is C-Canon material that contradicts the idea that carbonite encasement would prevent all force powers. See my answer to a related question for the specific example. – Beofett Aug 07 '13 at 19:33

score 4 · Answer 5 · edited Aug 07 '13 at 08:33

Keeping them in containment while they have access to their powers could be impossible on the long term. Their ability to bend their surroundings and to manipulate the minds of their guards makes a classic prison scenario impossible.

So, instead of keeping them inside some jail, a much better approach could be to make sure that there is no place for them to escape to. Jedis, after all, are biological beings, they cannot survive in really harsh environments. Dedicating a prison planet for them, or even better, creating a jail in space, with no possible access to a space ship should keep them pinned for a long time.

Petty jedi criminals guilty of using a lightsaber for inappropriate purposes could be sentenced on prison planets, survivor style, with no guards or spaceports whatsoever. Extracting them after their sentence has expired should prove to be difficult because means of getting to the surface and then back to space have to be solved somehow (food and supplies can be dropped from orbit). Another big disadvantage of prison planets is that it is a great way for power-hungry jedis to start their carreer and start building their relationships. The planet has to be blockaded by a sizeable military force at all times, of course. You don't want someone to just go there, land, and save their evil buddies.

For dark and scary Jedis the solution could be more simple, as there are fewer of them. I, for one, would simply build a nice habitat in space, surrounded by thick automated defenses and put him inside. Organize monthly food drops in form of packages without their own propulsion systems (for example by shooting them directly into some input port of the habitat). The zone around the habitat would be restricted at all times, so that no human being is allowed to get closer than a couple of kms, or whatever the range of the bad guy's powers is. As an extra layer of defense by manned patrol ships could be organized to take care of whoever is trying to sneak past the automated defenses, but having something like this could turn to be a security problem, especially if someone wants to make a Hollywood-style movie about the escape of a dark lord.

Isn't there some sort of force dampening field? Something along the lines of kryptonite. Then you could treat them as regular criminals. — bitmask, Aug 07 '13 at 08:42
If a Jedi is inside a prison in space, why shouldn't (s)he be able to use the force to move the prison toward some space station and then escape? — giorgian, Aug 07 '13 at 10:09
@bitmask I am not an expert but I haven't heard of any material / force field that could block the propagation of force — CodeTwice, Aug 07 '13 at 10:59
@giorgian Interesting idea. Maybe the habitat should preferably be located in an uninhabited solar system? — CodeTwice, Aug 07 '13 at 11:01
@CodeTwice - try this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ysalamiri#Ysalamiri — The Fallen, Aug 07 '13 at 12:52
"Welcome, new prisoners. Be advised that this station has a large power reactor that is kept constantly on the brink of overload. If anyone trips the internal security systems, or any prisoner goes missing, or any unauthorized ships approach, or the whole station starts to move, or any of the sentries releases a dead-man switch, you're all free particles." — Beta, Aug 07 '13 at 16:07

score 4 · Answer 6 · edited Aug 07 '13 at 16:00

MAJOR INFRACTIONS

Chuck them down a pit too wide and deep for them to Force jump out of.
Place them inside a cell in deep space, periodically restocked with food and water.
As mentioned in another answer, freeze them in carbonite.
Take the deep space cell and submerge it in lava on whatever that lava planet is.
Drop them on a planet with no technology, and define the planet as the prison.
As mentioned above, wrap a Ysalamiri around their neck. Better yet, isolate the force suppression aspect of the beast and technologize (?) it.

Jedis who had committed minor infractions would presumably still comply with a punishment from the council, so that's not really a problem. If they don't, then, well, see above...

re 2) make sure you don't fly there but only "throw" the goods so they can't MacGiver their way out... — Zommuter, Aug 08 '13 at 10:06

Cherubel · Answer 7 · 2014-05-26T07:08:35.837

you could always stick them in a Force cage and keep them inside of it for as long as you need. As how to capture a Jedi in order to stuff him/her in a force cage just watch Episode III and substitute the live ammo with fast working neurotoxins designed to overpower Jedi or some such. Coz once in the Forcecage or a stasis chamber it is over and done for that individual. The only way for them to get out is if the power went out or somebody intentionally let them out.

How do you keep a Jedi in jail?

7 Answers7