The romans did the literal killing because Judea was a roman province, and therefore it was up to the Roman garrison to carry out the punishment. The people wh

The romans did the literal killing because Judea was a roman province, and therefore it was up to the Roman garrison to carry out the punishment. The people who *called* for the punishment were largely the Jewish Sanhedrin and people of the crowds. So if we’re going to be pedantic, a more accurate statement would be “The Jewish people petitioned their Roman overlords to kill Jesus on their behalf”.