The following is the transcript from a 30-minute live chat with reporter Sue Lindsay:

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Samm Question: Do you think politicians who make these laws will pay attention to this brain research studies?

sue Answer: We know the issue will come up again in the legislature and the brain research is one of the key arguments in favor of change. Politicians need to consider this but whether they will, who knows?

Rocko Question: Do DAs bring up these brain stories you wrote about when defending juvenile clients?

sue Answer: Not sure what you mean by DA. District attorneys prosecute criminals so they don't bring this up. Defense attorneys increasingly bring this up as part of their case.

Samm Question: do you really believe that Nathan has any remorse?

sue Answer: Nathan Ybanez said he wished he had had the "strength" to leave. He regrets killing his mother, but felt he had no other way out of what he says was a severely abusive home life.

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Tim Answer: Hi. This is Tim, the moderator. Here is an e-mailed question from a reader: I was wondering where the other people involved with the Peterson/mayo murders are? What are they doing, is that girl on death row also, what happened to her wasn’t she the reason this became? How could you shed light on such dark people and why did you not put more in your articles about the victims?

Rocko Question: And what has been the response from judges and juries?

sue Answer: If you mean during trials, I haven't covered any where this issue has come up. I read the transcript of one trial in which this was raised as part of the defense. The jury convicted him anyway. However, these arguments were part of what DID sway the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the death penalty for juveniles.

sue Answer: Here's an asnwer to the emailed question: Gregory Romero and Donnell Carter are serving life sentences...one in Canon City, one in Buena Vista. Cheryl Armstrong is serving 96 years in the Colorado Women's Prison. The fourth defendant, Terrance Baweic, was sentenced to 12 years. As for the victims, we have separate stories about the lives they've led since their loved ones were killed. There were some victims' families we couldn't get in touch with.

sjohnson Question: How did you "reach out" to the victim's families and how did you feel about renewing their pain?

sue Answer: Many we contacted by phone, some we wrote to. We felt we needed to try to contact the victims' families if we were going to write about the people who killed their loved ones. It was up to them whether to talk to us or not. We also did not want them to be surprised when a series like this was published.

Robinson Question: How did you come across the brain research and why did you decided to include it?

sue Answer: I read about the brain research in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling and also while doing preliminary research into this topic before we forumated our plan for the series. We decided to include it because it is a major argument used by those in favor of revamping the way juveniles are prosecuted and sentenced.

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Robinson Question: do some teen brains mature faster than other teen brains? i know they're different from adults, but what about teen to teen?

sue Answer: Yes, teen brains mature at different rates by individual, but the researchers have shown the pattern of brain development that is common to all adolescents.

Rocko Question: what about the nurture factor in these families and not just the science? what role does that play?

sue Answer: Of course nurture plays a key role in child development. Many of these defendants did not have fathers in the home, and many came from abusive or neglectful homes. Another key factor researchers have linked to "kids who kill" is mental illness of various kinds and degrees.

Answer: Hi. This is Tim, the moderator. We're going to close the chat now. Thanks to everyone who joined and participated. We'll have another chat tomorrow at noon with Gwen Florio. I'll post the chat transcript with the series here in a bit.

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