The prisoners of Shada were stored each in their own separate cryogenic cell, alive, but frozen in time, in perpetual imprisonment. (PROSE: Shada) Prisoners had dragon tattoos which snapped upon their release. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet)
During the War in Heaven, when the Great Houses began using their prison planet more often, War criminals began to fit themselves with ice-proof secondary nervous systems to help them in case they were sent there. Realising that this made it too easy to break out of cryogenics, the Great Houses started directly linking prisoners' nervous systems into self-repeating time-frames through the convict tattoos on their upper right arms. (AUDIO: Movers)
The villainous Skagra managed a successful jail break of the prisoners while in search of Salyavin, the notorious Time Lord criminal who had developed a means of projecting his own thoughts into anyone's mind. Skagra believed that with this power, he could impose his own thoughts and will on the universe. Salyavin, though, had already escaped and was living a peaceful life as Professor Chronotis of the University of Cambridge. (PROSE: Shada)[additional sources needed]
While searching for Salyavin, Skagra accessed the records of war criminal Rungar and mass-murderer Sabjatrik who were also prisoners in perpetuity. (WC: Shada, AUDIO: Shada) According to one account, Lady Scintilla was imprisoned in Shada for "conspiring with Carrionites". (PROSE: Shada)
Grandfather Paradox was imprisoned on Shada. (Legend had it that he had been imprisoned rather than executed because "everyone was more afraid of him dead than alive".) Early during Romana's Presidency, she suffered an epileptic fit under the influence of the Carnival Queen and signed an executive order freeing three hundred prisoners from Shada, including the Grandfather, who led the freed prisoners. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet) When Cousin Justine was tried and convicted by the ruling Houses, since she held the Grandfather's shadow, she was sent to the prison-world to finish the Grandfather's sentence. (AUDIO: In the Year of the Cat) However, she was rescued. (AUDIO: A Labyrinth of Histories)
Devonire began his search for Grandfather Paradox's arm in the prison, and he was later imprisoned there in perpetuity. (PROSE: The Book of the War)
The Heretic was either killed by the Time Lords or imprisoned on Shada after plotting to regenerate the universe. (AUDIO: The Two Masters)
Behind the scenes
Shada as it was originally meant to appear.
In the unaired serial, Shada was originally going to hold a Dalek, a Cyberman and a Zygon, but the scenes set in Shada's interior were never recorded.
