Sentencing a 14-year old to life without parole: Do you know who Quantel Lotts is?

Quantel Lotts is a 23 year-old man who was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole in the accidental killing of his stepbrother when he was only 14:

"Lotts, who was sentenced to life without parole when he was 14 years old -- one of the very few people in the world to get such a punishment. [...]

A group called Equal Justice is fighting to get Lotts' sentence changed, calling it a case of cruel and unusual punishment. Even Charles Manson gets a shot at parole, CNN notes." Source: Crime Scene Kansas City

First of all I cannot understand how on earth it could ever be justifiable to send a 14 year-old child to prison for the rest of his life with no parole!

This case is yet another example of how the justice system unfairly treats minorities. If Quantel was named Johnny, and didn't have dark skin, would he have seen the same fate? I think not!

I am glad that the group, Equal Justice is fighting on behalf of Quantel and other youth like him:

"Lotts is one of at least 73 U.S. inmates — most of them minorities — who were sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison for crimes committed when they were 13 or 14, according to the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization in Alabama that defends indigent defendants and prisoners.

The 73 are just a fraction of the more than 2,000 offenders serving life sentences for crimes they committed as minors under the age of 18." Source: Broken Spectrum of the World-Delivered