Some weekend reading from SSRN

For those looking for a bit of not-so-light weekend reading, now up on SSRN are these new pieces of interest for sentencing fans:

• It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again: Williams V. Taylor, Wiggins V. Smith, Rompilla V. Beard and a (Partial) Return to the Guidelines Approach to the Effective Assistance of Counsel by John Blume

• Reconsidering the Relationship between Cognitive Psychology and Plea Bargaining by Russell Covey

• Is the Death of the Death Penalty Near? The Impact of Atkins and Roper on the Future of Capital Punishment for Mentally Ill Defendants by Helen Shin

UPDATE:  Scott at Grits has this terrific review of Russell Covey's article on plea bargaining.  The full review is a must-read, and here is how it ends:

I think there needs to be a renewed debate over the ubiquitous role of plea bargains in modern criminal jurisprudence, and I applaud Covey for examining the absurdist legal and economic theories used to justify undermining defendants' constitutional right to trial.  Unfortunately, law review treatises filled with legalese and academic jargon won't be what sparks such a debate.  I'm glad to see folks in the academy examining such topics, but I wish they'd learn to communicate what they find in more publicly accessible ways. These topics are too important not to let the public in on the discussion.