ORANGE, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey school district has suspended a teacher following reports that she assigned her third-grade class to write "get well" letters to a man convicted of killing a Philadelphia policeman.

Orange School Superintendent Ronald Lee said in a statement released Friday that school administrators "vehemently deny" any knowledge of Marilyn Zuniga's assignment. Lee says preliminary inquiries found Zuniga did not seek approval nor were parents notified.The letters were delivered to Mumia Abu-Jamal. The former Black Panther is serving life in prison for the 1981 murder of white Philadelphia officer Daniel Faulkner. He claims he is the victim of a racist justice system.A supporter and history professor, Johanna Fernandez, brought him the letters.She says Abu-Jamal was released from a hospital in Pottsville on April 1, and returned to the prison.