A federal judge has denied a request for compassionate release from jailed civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart, who is dying from stage IV breast cancer. Stewart has served almost four years of a 10-year prison sentence for distributing press releases on behalf of her jailed client, Omar Abdel Rahman, an Egyptian cleric known as the “blind Sheikh.” On Friday, Judge John Koeltl rejected a request that would have allowed her to die surrounded by her loved ones. The judge said he could not order her release unless it was first requested by the Bureau of Prisons, which recently turned down Stewart’s bid for release, saying she is not sick enough. Since then, her doctor has said she has less than 18 months to live. Stewart’s lawyers have resubmitted her application to the Bureau of Prisons, and Judge Koeltl said he would give “prompt and sympathetic consideration” if the Bureau approves that request.