They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. If he were not a malefactor - So they did not wish to make Pilate the judge, but the executor of the sentence which they had already illegally passed.
Related Commentaries of John 18:30
John 18:30
30 They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee.