Question: (CNN) -- It began as horseplay, with two teenage stepbrothers chasing each other with blow guns and darts. But it soon escalated when one of the boys grabbed a knife.

Michael Barton, Quantel Lotts' stepbrother, was stabbed to death at age 17.

The older teen, Michael Barton, 17, was dead by the time he reached the hospital, stabbed twice.The younger boy, Quantel Lotts, 14, would eventually become one of Missouri's youngest lifers.

Lotts was sentenced in Missouri's St. Francois County Circuit Court in 2002 to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder in his stepbrother's stabbing death.

It made no difference that at the time of the deadly scuffle, Lotts was barely old enough to watch PG-13 movie and too young to drive, vote or buy beer.

"They locked me up and threw away the keys," Lotts, now 23, said from prison. "They took away all hope for the future."

His stepmother, the victim's mother, has forgiven Lotts and is working with lawyers to gain his release.

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.

Across the country, most juvenile offenders and many adults are given a second chance. Charles Manson, convicted in seven notorious murders committed when he was 27, will be eligible for his 12th parole hearing in 2012. He's been denied parole 11 times. Even "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz, who confessed to killing six people in the 1970s when he was in his 20s, has had four parole hearings, though he has said he doesn't deserve parole and doesn't want it. 1. Who was the youngest boy?
2. At what age?
3. How many teens did he kill?
4. Was he related to the deceased?
5. What weapons did they play with initially?
6. Which weapon was fatal?
7. What year did this occur?
8. In what state?
9. How many years was the sentence?
10. What was the official crime?
11. How many other youth received life sentences in the U.S.?
12. How many were only 13 or 14 at the time of their crime?
13. According to whom?
14. Based where?
15. Has Lott's stepmother forgiven him?
16. Does she want him to be released?
17. Who is she working with to that end/ Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. Quantel Lotts
2. Quantel Lotts, 14,
3. Quantel Lotts' stepbrother, was stabbed to death at age 17
4. stepbrother
5. Blow guns and darts
6. A knife.
7. 2002
8. Missouri
9. life in prison
10. first-degree murder
11. More than 2,000
12. 73
13. Equal Justice Initiative
14. Alabama
15. Yes
16. Yes
17. To gain his release.

Question: "How do you account for your remarkable achievements in life?" Queen Victoria of England asked Helen Keller. "How do you explain the fact that even though you were both blind and deaf, you were able to achieve so much?" Ms. Keller's answer is a tribute to her dedicated teacher. "If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown." According to speaker Zig Ziglar, "Little Annie" Sullivan, as she was called when she was young, was no stranger to hardship. She was almost sightless herself (due to a childhood fever) and was, at one time, diagnosed as hopelessly "insane" by her by caregivers. She was locked in the basement of a mental institution outside of Boston. On occasion, Little Annie would violently attack anyone who came near. Most of the time she generally ignored everyone in her presence. An elderly nurse believed there was hope, however, and she made it her mission to show love to the child. Every day she visited Little Annie. For the most part, the child did not acknowledge the nurse's presence, but she still continued to visit. The kind woman left cookies for her and spoke words of love and encouragement. She believed Little Annie could recover, if only she were shown love. Eventually, doctors noticed a change in the girl. Where they once witnessed anger and hostility , they now noted an emerging gentleness and love. They moved her upstairs where she continued to improve. Then the day finally came when this seemingly "hopeless" child was released. Anne Sullivan grew into a young woman with a desire to help others as she, herself, was helped by the kindly nurse. It was she who saw the great potential in Helen Keller. She loved her, disciplined her, played with her, pushed her and worked with her until the flickering candle that was her life became a beacon of light to the world. Anne Sullivan worked wonders in Helen's life, but it was a loving nurse who first believed in Little Annie and lovingly transformed an uncommunicative child into a _ teacher. "If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown." But if it had not been for a kind and dedicated nurse, the name of Anne Sullivan would have remained unknown. And so it goes. Just how far back does the chain of redemption extend? And how for forward will it lead? Those you have sought to reach, whether they be in your family or elsewhere, are part of a chain of love that can extend through the generations. Your influence on their lives, whether or not you see results, is immeasurable. Your legacy of dedicated kindness and caring can transform lost and hopeless lives for years to come. 1. who is the story about?
2. Who did she teach?
3. What was wrong with Helen Keller?
4. and?
5. Did Anne Sullivan have any issues?
6. What was one of them?
7. Why?
8. Who helped her?
9. was Annie acting violent too?
10. how did the elderly nurse help her?
11. and what else?
12. Did she talk to her and show her love and encouragement?
13. were the doctors surprised that Annie got better?
14. Why did she want to help Helen Keller?
15. and what else?
16. so what was the moral of the story? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers:
1. Anne Sullivan
2. Helen Keller
3. She was blind
4. deaf
5. Yes
6. She was almost sightless
7. A childhood fever
8. An elderly nurse
9. Yes
10. She visited every day
11. She left cookies for her
12. Yes
13. Yes
14. She saw great potential
15. a desire to help as she was helped
16. A legacy of kindness can transform hopeless lives