BREAKING: Elementary Teacher Suspended Following ‘Get Well Cards’ To Cop Killer

Abu-Jamal, 60, is a former Black Panther serving life in prison for the 1981 murder of white Philadelphia Officer Daniel Faulkner

ORANGE, NJ – An elementary school teacher has been suspended for having her third-grade students write “get well” letters to an inmate convicted of killing a cop.

“Zunig tweeted moments after sending the letters saying, ‘Just dropped off these letters to comrade Johanna Fernandez. My 3rd graders wrote to Mumia to lift up his spirits as he is ill. #freemumia”

In a statement to NJ.com, district officials criticized the assignment given by teacher Marylin Zuniga to write letters to former death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal.

“It had been a long time since we had seen Mumia smile. He chuckled as he read excerpts from these touching letters.”

— Teacher Marylin Zuniga

School officials said they “vehemently deny” having prior knowledge of the assignment, and said Zuniga neither sought prior approval nor notified parents about this “unauthorized activity.”

According to FOX and Friends, Zunig, a teacher at Forest Street School in Orange, New Jersey, had her third graders write letters to Abu-Jamal. The letters were delivered by Johanna Fernandez, a professor of history at Baruch College.

Zunig tweeted moments after sending the letters saying, “Just dropped off these letters to comrade Johanna Fernandez. My 3rd graders wrote to Mumia to lift up his spirits as he is ill. #freemumia”

Fernandez says Mumia appreciated the public school children’s letters.

“It had been a long time since we had seen Mumia smile. He chuckled as he read excerpts from these touching letters,” she writes.

The former death row inmate…(read more)

FOX 29 News Philadelphia