“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
“evildoer” or “criminal.” The irony of it all is that they accused the One who went about doing good (Acts 10:38) by healing, delivering, feeding, teaching, and raising from the dead those who were in need, as being an evildoer! Note that this is a charge against His character and not a specific crime.
Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
The implication of their rather rude reply to Pilate is that he should trust them and their determination of what should be done with Jesus. It may be that they were surprised by Pilate’s desire to try the case since he had just the previous night cooperated with them in their apprehension of Jesus.