Susan Atkins, seen here in 1969, the year she was convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate, has been seriously debilitated by brain cancer, her husband says. (Associated Press)

A follower of 1960s cult leader Charles Manson who stabbed pregnant U.S. actress Sharon Tate to death nearly 40 years ago but is dying of brain cancer in a California prison, was denied compassionate release Tuesday.

The California Board of Parole handed down its unanimous decision on the release of Susan Atkins hours after a 90-minute hearing, during which it heard impassioned pleas from both sides.

"Obviously, it was too hot of a potato for them to handle," said one of Atkins's attorneys, Eric P. Lampel. "Of course we're disappointed. There's no basis for denying this."

Lampel filed a motion last Thursday with Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Wesley asking for his client's release no matter what the parole board recommended. No hearing has been set, Lampel said after the hearing.

"We're going to be able to make the case in court. We'll take it to the next step," he said after being informed of the board's decision.

Atkins's doctors and officials at the women's prison in Corona, Calif., made the request in March because of her deteriorating health. She also has had her left leg amputated and is paralyzed on her right side, her husband, James Whitehouse, told the California Board of Parole Hearings.

Whitehouse, also acting as one of Atkins's attorneys, had argued that his wife was so debilitated that she could not even sit up in bed. He told the parole board there was no longer a reason to keep her incarcerated.

"She literally can't snap her fingers," he said. "She can put sentences together three or four times a day, but that's the extent of it."

He said doctors have given her three months to live.

Governor 'not for compassionate release'

The request for compassionate leave generated opposition from relatives of the victims, the state corrections department, Los Angeles County prosecutors and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Those kinds of crimes are just so unbelievable that I am not for compassionate release in that case," Schwarzenegger said Tuesday before the parole board issued its decision.

Atkins, Manson and two other cult members, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten, were tried for the 1969 killings of Tate, Leno and Rosemary La Bianca, and four others. Tate, the wife of filmmaker Roman Polanski, was 8½ months pregnant.

The defendants maintained their innocence throughout the trial. Once convicted, the women confessed to the killings during the penalty phase.

On the stand, Atkins recounted her role in stabbing Tate, who pleaded for the life of her unborn baby. Atkins claimed she was on LSD at the time but did not apologize for the crime until a parole hearing years later.