Roy Best (March 2, 1900 â€" March 27, 1954) was an American prison
warden, film actor, and political candidate for Governor of Colorado.
He is best remembered for his wardenship of the Colorado Territorial
Correctional Facility (CTCF), an infamous prison in Cañon City,
Colorado, and for playing himself in Canon City, the 1948 film noir
crime film.Roy Phelix Best was born on March 2, 1900 in Sheridan Lake,
Colorado to parents Boon and Carrie Blakely Best. In a harbinger of
young Roy's career path, Colorado Governor William H. Adams appointed
Roy's father Boon as warden of the Colorado Territorial Correctional
Facility. Adams would later appoint Roy as warden of the same
facility, making them the first father and son appointed warden by the
same Governor.Governor Adams appointed Roy as Colorado Territorial
Correctional Facility Warden in 1932, when Roy was coincidentally
thirty-two years of age. This made Best the youngest warden in the
history of the state and federal prison systems at that time.Best
wasted no time earning his reputation as “the most notoriousâ€
warden in Colorado history. A strict disciplinarian, Best pioneered
the use of painful and degrading punishments inside and outside prison
walls. Among these was the “Old Gray Mare,†a wooden sawhorse on
which inmates were bent-over, tied-down, and “flogged with a leather
strap.†Although Warden Best used the “Mare†as a means of
punishment and deterrence, the device would later play a central role
in the controversy that led to his removal.
warden, film actor, and political candidate for Governor of Colorado.
He is best remembered for his wardenship of the Colorado Territorial
Correctional Facility (CTCF), an infamous prison in Cañon City,
Colorado, and for playing himself in Canon City, the 1948 film noir
crime film.Roy Phelix Best was born on March 2, 1900 in Sheridan Lake,
Colorado to parents Boon and Carrie Blakely Best. In a harbinger of
young Roy's career path, Colorado Governor William H. Adams appointed
Roy's father Boon as warden of the Colorado Territorial Correctional
Facility. Adams would later appoint Roy as warden of the same
facility, making them the first father and son appointed warden by the
same Governor.Governor Adams appointed Roy as Colorado Territorial
Correctional Facility Warden in 1932, when Roy was coincidentally
thirty-two years of age. This made Best the youngest warden in the
history of the state and federal prison systems at that time.Best
wasted no time earning his reputation as “the most notoriousâ€
warden in Colorado history. A strict disciplinarian, Best pioneered
the use of painful and degrading punishments inside and outside prison
walls. Among these was the “Old Gray Mare,†a wooden sawhorse on
which inmates were bent-over, tied-down, and “flogged with a leather
strap.†Although Warden Best used the “Mare†as a means of
punishment and deterrence, the device would later play a central role
in the controversy that led to his removal.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.