Roy Best (prison warden)

Best died from a heart attack on May 27, 1954, just three days short of the lifting of his suspension, and was buried at Lakeside Cemetery in Cañon City, just two miles from the prison.

By the early 1950s, word of Best's floggings had reached the public and spurred significant backlash. In response, Governor Daniel I. J. Thornton launched an investigation and called for Best's removal. A federal indictment followed, and Best faced a trial for violating his prisoners’ constitutional rights, among other charges.

A prison break in 1947 was among the difficulties that confronted Best during his controversial tenure. On December 30, 1947, twelve inmates escaped Best's prison in the middle of a snowstorm just before New Year's Eve. Best organized a search party, and successfully captured or killed all of the escapees, “with most of the survivors suffering some degree of frostbite.”

Even before the release of Canon City, Best was quick to capitalize on his newfound notoriety as warden of Colorado's state penitentiary. Best ran unopposed in the 1944 Democratic Primary for Governor of Colorado, earning over 34,000 votes. He proceeded to narrowly lose to Republican John Charles Vivian in the 1944 Colorado gubernatorial election.

Homosexual prisoners also were unspared. Early in Best's tenure, male prisoners caught in amorous liaisons “were forced to wear dresses and push a wheelbarrow filled with rocks as their punishment.” A 1935 photograph documents the practice.

Governor Adams appointed Best as warden at CTCF in 1932, when Best was 32 years old. This made Best the youngest warden in the history of the state and federal prison systems at that time.

Roy Phelix Best (March 2, 1900 – May 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, an infamous prison in Cañon City, Colorado, and for playing himself in Canon City, a 1948 film noir crime film.

Roy Phelix Best was born on March 2, 1900, in Rocky Ford, Colorado, to parents Boon and Carrie Blakely Best. Colorado Governor William H. Adams appointed Roy's father Boon as warden of the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility (CTCF) in Canon City. Adams later appointed Roy as warden of the same facility, making them the first father and son appointed warden by the same governor.