That is what was said was done; the last motion before Pontius Pilate allowed the sentencing of Jesus to death to be given. By all accounts he himself did not actually give the go ahead with the execution but allowed the masses to decide his death for him. The following is an excerpt from the Catholic Encyclopedia:
"In all New Testament accounts, Pilate hesitates to condemn Jesus until the crowd insists. Some have suggested that this may have been an effort by Early Christian polemicists to curry favor with Rome by placing the blame for Jesus' execution on the Jews. Yet Pilate's ability to be swayed by the crowd and his subsequent unjust decision to execute the innocent man hardly seem complimentary of Rome. So perhaps to save face, he "washed his hands", and let the crowd decide."