Movies and Love

How come in movies the phrase "Don't hurt him!" is always a profession of love?

I mean, I can think of lots of people whom I don't love but that I still don't want to see get hurt.  If a mob boss were saying to me, "I will maim and kill this person if you don't tell me your secrets," I'm not sure it would matter WHO that person was.  I would immediately start into my life history, telling all the secrets I've ever had.  I'd rather tell the secrets, no matter what kind, than have the maiming and killing of another human being on my conscience for the rest of my life.

Or, the outcast coming back into society, and people are shouting to lynch him, and the one person who secretly loves him shouts out, "Don't hurt him!"  "He's just a misunderstood person!"  And then all the townspeople realize that she loves him and then their anger is bigger than before.  ...  Can't reasonable people shout, "Don't kill him!"  "We shouldn't be so quick to kill another human being.  Let's think about this a bit harder, guys"?

I don't think I'm alone in this.  I think most people would choose not to kill another human being, even under threat of a mob boss or pressure from an angry crowd.  (At least that's what we'd choose if we had time to think about it.  Let's leave crowd psychology out of this.)

So I repeat my initial question:
How come in movies the phrase "Don't hurt him!" is always a profession of love?