Abu al-Zinad (may Allah have mercy on him) said that a governor of Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) caught some highway robbers and wanted to kill them, but then he wrote to Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him), who replied: Deal with them in a lighter way than that; and he forbade killing them.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السرقة / 17318