I am trying to recreate the biography of a young Italian immigrant to
the United States. He was arrested in California for stealing food and
sent to prison and also spent time in an insane asylum. This happened
during the period between 1917 and 1921. He spoke little English and
was very frightened. Can I have an idea about how prisons and insane
asylums functioned in that period in California? I would love a
graphic description with a reference to what the interred population
was like. (This man was my father.)

Born in Seattle, Frances Farmer was a top actress beginning in the 1930s.  
Afflicted by the effects of substance abuse, she was confined to
asylums for a time in California and later in Washington State.
A contemporary motto was "Lobotomy Sends Them Home"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Farmer

http://www.washington.historylink.org/output.cfm?file_id=5059