Jacob Pizzo was sick when he entered the Oregon State Penitentiary a year ago — and he only became sicker.

His hypertension ran unchecked as his blood pressure reached dangerously high levels and he showed signs of organ damage, court documents state. He experienced worsening rashes and lost three fingernails and toenails.

Prison administrators offered to pull his rotting teeth, but denied him dentures because he had less than two years on his sentence, documents state. The daily distress from his teeth prompted Pizzo, 57, to file a grievance in June. He wrote that he felt anguish every time he looked in the mirror or spoke. He said he choked on food and struggled to talk.

In court this summer, the Oregon Department of Corrections defended its treatment of Pizzo, saying treatment of his

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