ss Protection Act of 1982, 18 U.S.C. 1512, and the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, 18 U.S.C. 2113, Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(b)2(c) was amended to provide that "the presentence report shall contain . . . information concerning any harm, including financial, social, psychological, and physical harm, due to or . . . suffered by any victim of the offense." State VIS requirements vary. In some states VISs must be presented at all felony sentencing hearings. In others, their inclusion or not is within the discretion of the trial judge. In Maryland at the time the trial of John Booth for murder occurred, "the presentence report in all felony cases . . . must include a . . . (VIS), describing the effect of the crime on the victim and his family" (Booth 498).
Booth. Booth and a confederate were convicted by a Maryland jury of first degree murder arising out of their brutal stabbing slaying and drug-related robbery of an elderly couple. The jury sentenced Booth to death. At
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