Inmates in Iowa’s prisons, including those at the Mt. Pleasant Correctional Facility, will soon have access to Mp3 players. Sheryl Dahm, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Prisons System, says inmates have access to cassettes and tape players now, but the prisons are trying to keep up with technology. They have tested Mp3 player services from three different companies and interviewed inmates on which service they prefer. They plan to start this Mp3 service program sometime next month.

The Mp3 players would not have access to the internet, but songs from the commissary provider could be browsed and purchased at the commissary.

After the inmates have been released from prison, they can still use the Mp3 players they purchased, by sending it to the company who manufactures them to be unlocked. They would then have access to the internet, and would work with all major music programs like iTunes.