On Wednesday, the state of Texas carried out the execution of death row inmate Ivan Cantu, who had been convicted and sentenced to death for the 2000 murders of his cousin and his cousin’s fiancée.

Throughout the process, Cantu consistently asserted his innocence.

The execution, administered via lethal injection, concluded at 6:47 p.m., as stated in a news release by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

In his final words, Cantu reiterated his claim of innocence in connection to the murders of James Mosqueda, his cousin, and Amy Kitchen, a nursing student.

“I’d like to address the Kitchens and Mosqueda families. I want you to know that I never killed James and Amy,” Cantu said. “And if I did, if I knew who did, you would’ve been the first to know any information I would’ve had that would’ve helped to bring justice to James and Amy.”

Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis, however, said Cantu had “finally met with justice” after more than two decades of courts “comprehensively reviewing” his case, CNN reported.

“My hopeful prayer is for the victims’ families, friends, and loved ones to find a long-awaited sense of peace,” Willis said in a statement.

Written by B.C. Begley