For the fourth time in two years, a former North Carolina legislator has been convicted of crimes and forced to leave office.

Former N.C. Rep. Thomas Wright, a Democrat from Wilmington, will serve six to eight years in prison for mishandling thousands of dollars in charitable contributions and for fraudulently obtaining a $150,000 loan.

Wright hardly went quietly. His refusal to fall on his sword after allegations became public left N.C. House members with little choice but to move to expel him, making him the first legislator kicked out of office in 128 years in North Carolina.

Say this much for his posturing: It forced the N.C. General Assembly to show some real teeth in dealing with what has seemed at times to be an unending string of ethical lapses.

That's something the General Assembly – and the entire state – need more of. Forgetting the sins of Wright, former N.C. House Speaker Jim Black and former N.C. Reps. Michael Decker and Paul Miller would serve neither the General Assembly nor the people of North Carolina.

Their crimes should be held up every day as examples of what happens when politicians try to use positions of power for their own purposes. Those nightmares aren't something to be proud of, but North Carolina lawmakers hardly will learn a lesson if we try to pretend they never happened.

North Carolina has become one of the most scandal-ridden states in the union through the misdeeds of these lawmakers. Here's hoping the state can go forward with a cleaner slate.