code: public static boolean haveSameSpan(final Annotation anno1, final Annotation anno2)
      {
          return anno1.getBegin() == anno2.getBegin() && anno1.getEnd() == anno2.getEnd();
      }
docs: Returns whether two annotations share the same span
  
  <p>
  The method checks the spans based on the begin and end indices and not based on the
  covered text.
  </p>
  
  @param anno1 first annotation
  @param anno2 second annotation
  @return whether the spans are identical