Photo courtesy: Private Collection
This Buick Rivera was Roy Best’s pride and joy. He was the Warden at Canon State where he was well-known to meter out punishment to those who disobeyed his rules. His basic tenets were that "prisoners are human beings" and should be treated as such. However, if they were not respectful, then they were punished. His belief that inmates were expected to work hard, "lots of work and lots of play; no work, no play." Although he had the reputation of being a fair man, he used the "Old Gray Mare" (a sawhorse over which a prisoner was forced to lay and receive lashes from a wet leather strap) for discipline. One day, two prisoners escaped from Canon Prison and stole Roy Best’s car. They cruised around for a few hours before finally getting caught and returned to Canon Prison where they must have received severe punishment from Mr. Best himself.
