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If there was a person in history corresponding to the Biblical Jesus (there probably was, but eh, hedging my bets), then whatever he died on the cross for, it probably wasn't "our sins." It was probably more likely being a political threat (unless Jesus had some skeletons in his closet that aren't recorded in Christian mythology). Remember, the Jews of the time thought the messiah would be a political-military figure, something like Muhammad. If that's the case, then it makes no sense for Pilate to have allowed the Jews a choice in who the Romans executed. If he was a threat to the social order, then he was a threat to Roman governance in Judea. There's no way Pilate would have handed off someone like that to the whimsy of the mob.