Intriguing (high-profile) example of jury sentencing

There are many stories which surround the prosecution and guilty plea of Lynndie England, the Army reservist involved in abusing naked Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.  But my interest is captured by military’s use of true jury sentencing (see background here and here on military trial procedures).

The New York Times has this account of the on-going sentencing trial of England, and TalkLeft comments here on the mitigating evidence being presented.  I find particularly intriguing the reports that England’s plea deal capped the sentence she could receive, as she will apparently receive the lesser of the military jury’s sentence or the term specified in the plea bargain. 

I wonder if counsel in civilian cases ever consider this “lesser sentence” sort of plea agreement.  I am not even sure such a deal could be engineered, or would be accepted, in a jurisdiction that relies on judicial sentencing.