Woman who drowned son seeks pardon from Peres
Olga Borisov says court didn't take into account her mental state, asks president to commute her 8-year sentence
A woman convicted of killing her 4-year-old son turned to President Shimon Peres for a pardon on Sunday. Olga Borisov was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2008 for drowning her son Alon. She is now asking that her sentence be commuted.
Last week, it was reported that Borisov had asked to be transferred to a prison in her native country of Russia on the grounds that she is being humiliated and harassed by fellow inmates and prison guards at the Neve Tirza Prison.
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In her letter to Peres, Borisov claimed that during her lifetime she has suffered many hardships as well as severe mental illnesses including depressions accompanied by suicidal tendencies.
Olga Borisov. Claims to suffer from 'suicidal tendencies' (Photo: Avi Cohen)
Borisov was convicted of manslaughter after reaching a plea bargain with the prosecution in 2008. Her appeal on the sentence was denied by the Supreme Court.
In the past year, she has submitted several requests to the Prison Service including requests for a conjugal visit, leave to visit her son's grave and a transfer to a prison in Russia.
In her letter to President Peres, Borisov's lawyers said the request for a pardon "comes from a place of great pain, personal tragedy and distress, and considering many circumstances which were not necessarily represented in the District Court's verdict, such as her mental state and her loneliness."
The letter stated that Borisov was doing everything in her power to rehabilitate herself.
She has thus far served four years out of the eight in her sentence.
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