Davith Sconn served as an officer within the Imperial Navy. He advanced to the position of first officer on a Star Destroyer. However, his involvement in the bombardment of Gra Ploven led to his imprisonment at the Jagg Island Detention Center.
Around 20 BBY, Sconn enlisted in the Navy, likely near the conclusion of the Clone Wars. He then dedicated twenty-four years to service, with the majority of his time spent in space. His longest uninterrupted stay on a planet was a mandatory forty-day leave on Trif.
During his tenure as commander of the second watch on the Fleet tender Moff Weblin, he made a visit to the Black Fifteen shipyard located at N'zoth, sometime before or during 2 ABY. While present, he came across stories detailing the peculiar honor system of the native Yevetha, specifically how lower-caste males were obligated to halt and offer themselves for immediate execution whenever they encountered a higher-ranking individual. In a rare trip to the surface of the planet, he journeyed to Giat Nor to verify the truthfulness of these tales.
Subsequently, Lieutenant Sconn took on the role of executive officer aboard the Star Destroyer Forger, serving under Grand Moff Dureya. However, around 4 ABY, Governor Dureya instructed him to conduct a retaliatory bombardment of Gra Ploven as punishment for the native Ploven's refusal to meet their assigned contributions to the Imperial war effort. The ship's weaponry targeted the planet's oceans, generating boiling clouds that resulted in the deaths of two hundred thousand Ploven across three coastal cities.
As a consequence of this brutal act, the Empire initiated punitive measures, but Sconn, rather than Dureya, faced trial. His defense rested on the claim that he was merely following the Grand Moff's directives. Regardless, he was "forcibly retired" from his military position and confined to the Jagg Island facility on Coruscant.
He remained there through the liberation by the New Republic, the Imperial reconquest, and the subsequent civil war. In 16 ABY, he provided testimony regarding his Imperial service to Agent [Ralls] of New Republic Intelligence, leading New Republic Chief of State Leia Organa Solo to personally interview him about his experiences on N'zoth.
In exchange for providing information about the Yevetha, Sconn requested a brief journey into low orbit, desiring to be in space one last time. Princess Leia arranged to fulfill this request, and it was during this time that Sconn recounted his experiences on N'zoth to her.
The duration of Sconn's stay on Jagg Island, as depicted in Shield of Lies, reveals that he was convicted and imprisoned by the Galactic Empire, not the New Republic.