iradiophilly | News - Teacher Suspended for Sending Mumia Cards; Olney Mob Attack Video; DA Won't Retry Priest, Hung Jury

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Teacher Suspended for Sending Mumia Cards; Olney Mob Attack Video; DA Won't Retry Priest, Hung Jury

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 04/10/15 10:18 pm | updated: 04/10/15 10:18 pm

A teacher in Orange, New Jersey has been suspended after she had her third-grade class write "get-well" cards to an inmate convicted of killing a Philadelphia police officer. Orange School Superintendent Ronald Lee said in a statement on Friday that teacher, Marilyn Zuniga, had been suspended with pay pending an investigation. He also "vehemently denied" that the school had prior knowledge of Zuniga's assignment. A preliminary investigation has determined that she did not seek the administration's approval or notify the parents before giving the students the assignment. Zuniga had the students in her class write cards wishing convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal well after a recent trip to the hospital for complications with diabetes. Those letters were hand delivered to Abu-Jamal by college professor Johanna Fernandez of Baruch College. Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner and is serving life behind bars.

â€œJust dropped off these letters to comrade Johanna Fernandez. My 3rd graders wrote to Mumia to lift up his spirits as he is ill. #freemumia,â€ -- Tweet from Zuniga before she disabled her account.

Philadelphia Police have released surveillance video of a mob attack on a 51-year-old man at a gas station in the Olney section of the city earlier this week. It happened at 6:50 p.m. Tuesday in the 5500 block of North 5th Street. The video shows a group of men and women exit a grey minivan armed with various weapons such as a hammer, mace, and a piece of wood. They attack the man and flee the scene. The victim was taken to Einstein Medical Center in critical condition. Police found the silver Honda Odyssey in the hospital parking lot and arrested 24-year-old Shareena Joachim and 34-year-old Aleathea Gillard. They have been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and related offenses. Police are still searching for other suspects. If you have any information contact Philadelphia Police at 215-686-TIPS.

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office announced on Friday that it will not retry Rev. Andrew McCormick. McCormick was accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy at St. John Cantius parish in Bridesburg in 1997. Two previous trials have resulted in hung juries. It is unlikely that the 58-year-old McCormick will return to a parish anytime soon. He was suspended by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2011 while at Sacred Heart Parish near Bridgeport. He was first charged in July 2012 and tried last year. The second trial ended this past March. Specifically he was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, child endangerment, corruption of a minor, and indecent assault of a minor under 13. The victim, now 27, claimed that McCormick took him to his private bedroom in the rectory and tried to force him to commit a sex act. McCormick now lives near Pottstown.

Tonight,
Mostly Cloudy, temperatures in the mid 50's this evening in Center City

Pictured: Marilyn Zuniga

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