Welcome to PTO Wes! Glad you decided to join us.
My pen pal in MI has an mp3 player he bought from the canteen & has to buy his music for it from a kiosk that charges $2 a song. My pp in Iowa just got a thumb drive to keep his correspondence on when he uses the computer, and he had to buy it from the commissary.
I believe most inmates are allowed to have cd players & radios - I have not been in contact with any that have a cassette tape player. I personally have never heard of any prison allowing music tapes or cds to be sent in to the inmates by friends or loved ones. They always have to buy it from the prison store, or prison approved source (just like books).
Different states are at different levels of joining the 21st century, so it really depends on where they are incarcerated. Here in TX, they just completed a state wide initiative to get phones in the prisons for the 1st time!
Good luck with your new pen pals
