“...why would he hesitate to have him killed?”
Probably because of speculation about the very thing you are unwilling to consider, despite the many attempts by people here to show you.
1Cor 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
So the only answer you can come up with is that Pilates must have been struggling with something in his heart... because that is the only answer you can think of. Here’s a much more boring but plausible answer: It wasn’t his concern. Jesus wasn’t breaking Roman laws, he was upsetting Jewish sensibilities. Pilates’ response: NOT MY PROBLEM.