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Effie Steele of Durham was devastated with disbelief when the man charged with murdering her pregnant daughter two years ago did not receive an extra life sentence for the death of her unborn grandson.

Steele's daughter, Ebony Robinson, 21, was shot to death by her unborn child's father. She was found, eight months pregnant, on a gravel road outside Hillsborough. Kenneth Earl White Sr. was convicted of one count of murder and is serving life in prison without parole.

But Steele is adamant White should be serving two life sentences -- one for Elijah, her unborn grandson, and one for Ebony, who was killed about two weeks before she was expected to give birth.

Steele and other relatives of pregnant murder victims -- including the father of Raleigh's Jenna Nielsen, whose 2007 killing is still unsolved -- spoke at a news conference near Charlotte on Tuesday. They pressed for the passage of a North Carolina law that would carry a harsher penalty for criminals convicted of acts that result in the death of an unborn child.

"I thought it was outrageous we didn't already have it in the books and wanted to do anything I possibly could so no other parent would have to be told that nobody would be held accountable for their grandchild's murder," said Steele, 60.

The grieving families spoke in favor of The Unborn Victims of Violence Act for N.C. and Ethen's Law, named for Nielsen's unborn son, at a press conference at a Union County church near Charlotte on Wednesday.

The current fetal homicide law in North Carolina allows a charge to be elevated to the next higher level of offense when a defendant has committed a crime against a pregnant woman that leads to miscarriage or stillbirth of her unborn child. At least 36 states currently have a similar law in place.

Both Ethen's Law and The Unborn Victims of Violence Act for N.C. call for harsher punishment for murderers committing a crime against a pregnant woman that results in death or injury to the unborn child. The penalty would be life without parole.

Ethen's Law would charge murderers with this penalty if the child was 20 weeks old and The Unborn Victims of Violence Act of N.C. would kick in from conception. Both bills are awaiting action by the House. Republicans have complained that leaders of the Democratic-dominated legislature have not allowed either bill to come up for a vote.

"They should be charged regardless of how old the fetus is," said Kevin Blaine of Holly Springs. "The mothers already have the names picked out."

Blaine's daughter, Jenna, left two other children behind when she was murdered in 2007 behind a convenience store in Raleigh. She was eight months pregnant with baby Ethen. As of now, no one has been caught for this crime.

"When they do catch my daughter's murderer, he won't be charged for the murder of my grandson and that's appalling," Blaine said. "Aggravating circumstance is the only thing he can be charged with."

Families have held press conferences, meetings and memorial services, signed petitions and passed out pamphlets to emphasize the need for harsher legislation.

"If we don't do something, parents will continue to be faced with this issue and people will get away with murdering our unborn babies," Steele said. "They need to know upfront they will be charged with two murders."