THE PITY IS THAT SHE CAN'T DIE NINE MORE TIMES

"She asked me to let her baby live," Atkins told parole officials in 1993. "I told her I didn't have mercy for her."

Manson follower Susan Atkins died in prison at 11:46 p.m. Thursday.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Atkins had been incarcerated at California Institution for Women in Corona (Riverside County) for 37 years. She was transferred to a community hospital on March 18, 2008 before moving to the Chowchilla prison's nursing facility exactly a year before her death.

Still in prison are Manson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten and Charles "Tex" Watson.

Atkins had been denied compassionate parole last month. Only Vincent Bugliosi, the Manson prosecutor, spoke out earlier in favor of release, saying the mercy requested was "minuscule" because Atkins was on her deathbed.

AP: Susan Denise Atkins was born May 7, 1948, in the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel.