If a person commits 1st degree murder and is sentenced to death, and the state proposed starvation and dehydration as the means of execution, the idea would be shot down as cruel and unusual punishment. However, if a woman suffers a tragic accident and is consigned to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, this same cruel and unusual punishment is fine. It's comforting to know that we wouldn't dare treat our most sinister of criminals the way we're perfectly happy treating our seriously ill.
