Cobey Wade Lakemper has been convicted of murder.

Despite his lawyers' impassioned defense that claimed he was mentally unstable when he committed the horrendous crime in 2005 of killing in cold blood Wendy Cartledge-Carter, a jury of his peers found him guilty of all counts Thursday, including two counts of felony murder.

We feel that Lakemper should receive nothing less than the maximum penalty - death.

The unfortunate fact is that now he has to go back to North Carolina to stand trial for murder there in the slaying of an elderly couple. From there, he will likely go through appeal processes that will extend his time on earth another 20 to 30 years at our expense.

When a person like Lakemper is found guilty of merciless deeds, justice should be swift and sure, and the American taxpayer should not have to bear the burden of his upkeep one more day than necessary.

The 30-year extension of life that Lakemper has probably received is far longer than Cartledge-Carter received.