( CNN ) -- Susan Atkins , a terminally ill former Charles Manson follower convicted in the murder of actress Sharon Tate , on Tuesday was denied a compassionate release from prison . Susan Atkins , Califorina 's longest-serving female inmate , is shown in her most recent mug shot . Atkins , 60 , has been diagnosed with brain cancer and has had a leg amputated , her attorney said . In June , she requested the release , available to terminally ill inmates with less than six months to live . The California Board of Parole Hearings ' decision -- posted Tuesday on its Web site -- came after a public hearing on Atkins ' request . It means the request will not be forwarded to the Los Angeles Superior Court that sentenced Atkins . The court would have had the final say on Atkins ' release . Her attorney , Eric P. Lampel , called the parole board 's decision `` unfortunate . '' `` [ The board ] ignored the vast majority of evidence presented , '' Lampel said . `` There was a huge amount of pro-compassionate release testimony from many witnesses . It apparently fell on deaf ears . '' Known within the Manson Family as Sadie Mae Glutz , Atkins and four others were convicted in connection with the deaths of five people , including Tate , in August 1969 . According to historical accounts of the murder , Atkins stabbed Tate , who was eight months pregnant , and scrawled the word `` pig '' in blood on the door of the home the actress shared with director Roman Polanski . By her own admission , Atkins held Tate down and rejected her pleas for mercy , stabbing the pregnant woman 16 times . Atkins ' request roused long-dormant memories of the two-day killing spree that terrorized Los Angeles and left seven people dead . It polarized those who were involved in the case -- and even those who were n't -- over whether she should die behind bars . Atkins told a 1993 parole board that Tate pleaded for her unborn child 's life as she held her down . `` She asked me to let her baby live , '' Atkins said . `` ... I told her I did n't have any mercy on her . '' Three of Tate 's houseguests were also slain by the killers , as was a teenager visiting the home 's caretaker in his cottage out back . Atkins was also convicted in the earlier murder of music teacher Gary Hinman . One of the first people Atkins confessed to was Virginia Graham , who shared a cell with her before investigators determined the Manson Family was responsible for the murders . Graham said last month she believed Atkins should die in prison . `` She showed that poor woman absolutely no mercy , none , '' Graham said . `` So why should anybody show her mercy at this time ? '' Sharon Tate 's sister , Debra , has staunchly opposed Atkins ' release . `` She will be set free when judged by God , '' Debra Tate has said . `` It 's important that she die in incarceration . '' Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said Monday he was strongly opposed to the release , saying in a letter to the board it would be `` an affront to people of this state , the California criminal justice system and the next of kin of many murder victims . '' Cooley noted in his letter that Atkins was initially sentenced to death , like others in the Manson Family , including its leader , Charles Manson . Their sentences were commuted to life in prison in 1972 , when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the death penalty laws as they were written at the time . California Gov . Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday he was also opposed to releasing Atkins . `` I do n't believe in [ compassionate release ] , '' the governor told reporters . `` I think that they have to stay in , they have to serve their time . '' Even if Atkins is dying , Schwarzenegger said , `` Those kinds of crimes are just so unbelievable that I 'm not for the compassionate release . '' Earlier , Suzan Hubbard , director of adult prisons in California , also recommended against granting Atkins ' request . Vincent Bugliosi , who prosecuted Atkins and other members of the Manson Family , said he supported her release , if only to save the state money . Through Monday , the cost for Atkins ' medical care since she was hospitalized March 18 totaled more than $ 1.15 million , and the costs for guarding her hospital room are more than $ 308,000 , said California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton . Terminally ill inmates rarely are allowed compassionate release , records show . In 2007 , 60 such requests were made to the department , Thornton has said . Ten were approved . Atkins , who has been incarcerated since 1971 , is California 's longest-serving female inmate . According to a Web site maintained by her husband and attorney , James Whitehouse , she is now a born-again Christian . During her incarceration , the site says , Atkins worked to help at-risk youth , violent crime victims and homeless children , among others . The Web site does not mention Atkins ' illness . Lampel said last month Atkins is paralyzed on one side . `` She can talk a little bit , '' Lampel said . `` She ca n't sit up in bed without assistance , and obviously she ca n't walk around because she 's an amputee . '' Atkins has expressed remorse for her crimes . `` I know the pain I caused Mrs. Tate , '' she said at a parole board hearing in 1985. ln May , authorities dug for buried bodies at the Inyo County , California , ranch where Manson and his followers once lived , after police became aware that testing had indicated human remains might be buried there . Nothing was found , authorities said . CNN 's Ted Rowlands contributed to this report .
Manson follower , 60 , terminally ill , expected to die within six months . Susan Atkins is bedridden , can barely speak . Manson stabbed pregnant victim Sharon Tate 16 times . Manson , who was convicted of five 1969 murders , has brain cancer .