The United States carried out its first federal execution in 17 years putting to death convicted murderer Daniel Lee, Reuters reported.

“The American people have made the considered choice to permit capital punishment for the most egregious federal crimes, and justice was done today in implementing the sentence for Lee’s horrific offenses,” US Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.

Lee was convicted of killing three family members in Arkansas in 1996, but some relatives of the victims opposed the death sentence.

“I didn’t do it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life but I’m not a murderer,” Lee said. “You’re killing an innocent man.”