article: A group of eight-year-old children in New Jersey have written letters to convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, wishing that he will 'get better soon' while recovering in hospital from a mystery illness after being encouraged by their teacher. The cards have caused outrage and alarm among political commentators, many of whom claim the 60-year-old's illness is a fraud and clamor for attention. Abu-Jamal, who shot Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in cold blood in 1981, was taken to hospital on April 2 after collapsing in the bathroom of the State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy. But this week he was delivered two batches of letters - one from a third grade class in Orange, New Jersey and another from high school students in the Philadelphia Student Union. 'Get well soon': Third graders in Orange, New Jersey, and high school students in the Philadelphia Student Union have sent Mumia Abu-Jamal letters wishing him well after he was hospitalized last week . Delivery: Johanna Fernandez (right), a professor of history at Baruch College, delivered Mumia Abu-Jamal a batch of letters from two different schools in hospital. He is pictured here also with (from left) Abdu Jon and Pam Africa . Ill: Mumia's supporters say photos of the prison journalist released this week by his wife show how ill and frail he is. Untreated diabetes is said to be the reason for Abu-Jama's hospitalization last week . The letters were delivered by Johanna Fernandez, a professor of history at Baruch College, according to Education Action Group News. 'We shared a touching moment with Mumia in an effort to raise his spirits,' Fernandez reported. 'Two teachers delivered letters to us that their students had written to Mumia.' 'It had been a long time since we had seen Mumia smile. 'He chuckled as he read excerpts from these touching letters.' The letters themselves or what they said were not released. However the fact they were written and then sent has infuriated many. Richard Costello, political coordinator for the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, said the letters set a dangerous example. 'I think its both alarming and outrageous that any teacher would use a group of innocent seven-year-olds to promote a twisted agenda glorifying murder, glorifying hatred and glorifying violence,' Costello told Fox News. 'He shot (the officer) in the back and then as the officer lay slumped against a wall helpless he leaned over and shot him between the eyes. 'When he was in the hospital he actually bragged about it.' Controversial: Marylin Zunig, a teacher at Forest Street School in Orange, New Jersey, had her third graders wrote letters to Mumia Abu-Jamal. The letters have subsequently sparked outrage . Costello said all the teachers involved in the letter writing campaign should be fired. 'Furthermore all the parents who have children in that school system need to reevaluate that involvement, because these children are now placed in danger by the very people charged with their education,' Costello said. 'They are being used as tools in someone's twisted agenda.' Costello has previously described Abu-Jamal as 'the devil'. The official reason the convicted killer was hospitalized has not been released. However reports say he was suffering high blood sugar levels. Attorney Bret Grote with the Pittsburgh-based Abolitionist Law Center said last week that his client was placed in the critical care unit of Schuylkill Medical Center in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Grote says neither he nor Abu-Jamal's brother, Keith Cook, had been allowed in to see him. 'We're concerned, about as concerned as it gets, about Mumia's health,' Grote told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Hospitalized: Convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal was placed in the critical care unit of a Pennsylvania hospital last week after collapsing in prison . A Pennsylvania Department of Corrections official also declined to provide details. A spokesman for Pottsville's Schuylkill Medical Center says he had no information about Abu-Jamal. 'We never discuss an inmate's medical condition,' deputy press secretary Susan Bensinger told the Inquirer. Mumia's hospitalization was revealed Monday when a group of his friends arrived to the State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy for a visit and were informed by prison staff that he wasn't there. While Grote and others had permission with the prison to visit Mumia, the hospital had not yet cleared them. Grote said he hoped the matter would be cleared up by Tuesday. Abu-Jamal is a former Black Panther serving life in prison for the 1981 murder of white Philadelphia police Officer Daniel Faulkner. Treated: Lawyers with Pittsburgh-based Abolitionist Law Center say prison officials told them their client was being treated at Pottsville's Schuylkill Medical Center . His conviction was upheld through years of appeals, but he has gained international support for his claim that he's the victim of a racist justice system. Mumia's death sentence was overturned in 2012. Abu-Jamal supporters include celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg, and many hail him as a revolutionary. Abu-Jamal has written several books, hosted his own radio show and even has a street named after him in France. Mumia Abu-Jamal (left) is a former Black Panther serving life in prison for the 1981 murder of white Philadelphia police Officer Daniel Faulkner (right). His conviction was upheld through years of appeals, but his death sentence was converted to life in prison in 2012 .
highlights: Former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal was hospitalized at Schuykill Medical Center in Pennsylvania on April 2 after collapsing in prison .
  He was delivered 'get well' letters from third graders in Orange, New Jersey, and high school students in the Philadelphia Student Union .
  The letters made Mumia 'chuckle and smile'
  Critics say they 'promote a twisted agenda glorifying murder and hatred'
  Mumia is serving a life sentence after years of appeals won him a reprieve from his death sentence in 2012 .
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