THIS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU
The answer
Disagree. Mark 15:6, Matthew 27:15 and John 18:39 all describe the custom. Some handwritten copies of Luke include it as verse 23:17. But no source outside the New Testament records it. The New Oxford Annotated Bible, a study Bible, says so in its notes on each Gospel. Its note on Mark adds that letting the crowd pick who goes free would go against how Rome usually handled prisoners.
Why it’s interesting
The prisoner in the story, Barabbas, is not mentioned outside the New Testament either. In Matthew 27:16-17 his full name is Jesus Barabbas, though some ancient copies leave out the name Jesus. So Pilate's question sets Jesus Barabbas against Jesus who is called the Messiah.
Scholarly consensus
Learn the Bible.
Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.