THE ISSUE of trying juveniles as adults has never been more controversial in Philadelphia than during the case of Miriam White, who, in 1999, became the youngest person in the city ever charged with murder.
On the evening of Aug. 20, White, 11, bolted from her family's South Philadelphia rowhouse with an 8-inch kitchen knife. She was angry because someone had said something to her about her letting the cat out of the house.
While rambling down a sidewalk, White, who suffered from mental-health issues and a history of psychiatric problems, spotted a stranger, Rosemarie Knight, 55, who was walking her dog on her 27th wedding anniversary.
