Teacher Suspended for Having Third Graders Write 'Get Well' Letters to Convicted Cop Killer

A New Jersey school teacher has been suspended by her district and denounced by the head of the New Jersey State Police union after having her students write “get well” letters to Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former death row inmate and convicted cop-killer.

Marylin Zuniga, a teacher at Forest Street Elementary School in Orange, had her third grade students write letters to Abu Jamal, who is suffering from complications related to diabetes, according to a report on nj.com.

She was suspended by her district and criticized by State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey President Chris Burgos, who has accused her of brainwashing her students.

Abu Jamal, 60, is serving a life sentence after being convicted in the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. Abu Jamal now goes by the name Wesley Cook.

On April 5, Zuniga posted about having her students write letters on Twitter, using the hash tag #freemumia, according to the report.

In her tweet, she mentioned Johanna Fernández, a professor at Baruch College in New York. Fernandez is a member of two groups advocating for Abu Jamal’s freedom, according to the report.

The Orange Public School District said it had no prior knowledge of the letters being written.