30 Jun Reno Jury Returns a $4.3 Million Verdict for Nicolai Mork for Cruel and Unusual Punishment in Nevada Department of Corrections.
Nicolai Mork was incarcerated in Stewart Conservation Camp from 2018 to 2021. For over a year, Mr. Mork had rotting teeth that were turning black, breaking off in his mouth and causing constant torturous pain and bleeding. For well more than a year, he had a full body rash that desperately required a dermatologist appointment and prevented him from sleeping or laying on his back. The two medical providers at SCC knew about his obvious need for a dermatologist and a dentist, but refused to allow him access to basic care.
Mr. Mork did not see a dentist until right before he was paroled and after he asked the federal courts to order the prison to get him care.
It wasn’t until he was released from prison that he was able to have his teeth pulled and rebuild his mouth.
Mr. Mork represented himself without a lawyer for years trying to seek justice for his mistreatment. Recently, Holland, Holland Edwards, & Grossman of Denver, Colorado, along with Breeden and Associates of Nevada joined Mr. Mork’s case for trial.
On June 20, 2025, more than four years after his release from prison, a Jury in Federal Court in Reno returned a verdict finding unconstitutional medical care by both individual defendants and awarded over four million dollars in compensation for his suffering.
Mr. Mork hopes that this verdict will reach the Department of Corrections decision makers and cause a change in how medical care is handled for prisoners in Nevada. Just last year, Jeremy Bean, a NDOC Warden issued a memo acknowledging that DOC facilities unconstitutionally withhold medical care and other times provide constitutionally inadequate care. The memo specifically acknowledges that this is cruel and unusual punishment, prohibited by the 8th Amendment.
Mr. Mork commented on the trial process and the verdict:
“Seeing the defendants brought back the pain and powerlessness. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to control my emotions and would lose the ability to speak. I brought a piece of my mom’s ashes to the trial with me and held it in my pocket for strength.
When the jury came back with the verdict, I wept. I had stopped believing it was possible for me to get any kind of justice. Then, suddenly, there was this abundant act of justice for me. I experienced a profound feeling of re-enfranchisement. The legal system could work for me. A jury could sympathize with me. I could leave the bitterness of my past behind.”
You can read more about the case here. Mr. Mork sought this verdict in part to help give hope to prisoners litigating by themselves without lawyers:
“If you read the legal briefs of pro se litigants in civil rights actions, you will see that we are not doing a good job protecting inmates’ constitutional rights. Lacking access to lawyers, computers, and cell phones, inmates often struggle to tell the court about the most egregious abuses of their rights.
Horrors like this are commonplace in our correctional and legal system. As a country, we need to do better to protect the people we incarcerate. I hope that my case will be a catalyst for other inmates and former inmates to realize that justice is possible and follow suit. I hope that Holland, Holland Edwards & Grossman’s success in representing me will encourage other firms to take cases of inmates, even if those inmates weren’t killed by the abuses they report. I hope hearing my story will encourage you to take whatever action you can to support this cause.”
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (6/29/2025). Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels