
Legally speaking the last war the US declared was WWII. Everything else has been heavily armed police actions. Congress declares war but the President is head of the military and does what he wants with the money Congress provides. Which seams like a disctintion without a difference except when it comes to “wartime” provisions in laws, services, and insurance.



No you can’t choose anything. Because cruel and unusual punishment is banned by the Constitution, sometimes courts say “you can’t execute a person that specific way because it’s cruel or unusual.” When lawmakers make new methods sometimes they have fallbacks to older methods to make sure the execution goes through reguardless of court rulings like that. A death row inmate’s lawyer might request a different execution method: if it’s one of the fallbacks the state may allow it and show the court saying “it isn’t cruel if it’s what they choose” and avoid an expensive appeal. In this case she has chosen a method not available in Tennessee, perhaps as a delay tactic to get more time for an appeal or different judges or perhaps even a stay of execution from a Governor. Trump has become famous for selling pardons which more or less expunges your conviction. Governors and Presidents also have the power to commute a sentence which says you’re still guilty but I reduce your sentence, typically down to time served. This is typically used when what they did is no longer illegal such as marijuana possession. As well as stay of execution, which, depending on the state, either switches you to a life sentence or just delays the execution.