A juror in the Jerry Sandusky trial said Saturday that the look on the former Penn State football coach's face as the guilty verdicts were announced was "confirmation" that they had made the right decision.

Joshua Harper told TODAY that Sandusky had shown "no real emotion, just kind of accepting because he knew it was true," he added.

Sandusky, 68, was convicted Friday of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and faces a minimum sentence of 60 years in prison, NBC News reported.

The former longtime defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team had denied all 48 counts alleging that he abused 10 boys over 15 years.

Two grand jury reports accused him of having used his connection to one of the nation's premier college football programs to "groom" the boys, whom he met through his Second Mile charity for troubled children.

Harper told TODAY that the jurors "were on the same page" when they began their deliberations and had focused on "the facts and determining credibility."

He said the men who testified that they were abused appeared to be telling the truth.

"I think there were a couple that I felt [were] very credible. I mean, it's hard to judge character on the stand, because you don't know these kids, but most were very credible, I would say all," Harper told TODAY.

He added that the fact that they all told similar stories about Sandusky was "very convincing."

Harper said they had not convicted Sandusky of rape over the incident witnessed by former Penn State assistant Mike McQueary -- who said he had "no doubt" that Sandusky engaged in anal sex with a boy in a Penn State shower -- because McQueary "did not see any actual penetration."

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"We did not have the evidence that that very first charge happened," Harper said. "We were in agreement ... that we could not convict him of that first count."

Sandusky was acquitted on two other counts as well -- one an indecent assault charge involving "Victim 6". The man testified that Sandusky had given him a bear hug in the shower but at one point he just "blacked out."

The other acquittal was an indecent assault charge related to "Victim 5", who said Sandusky fondled him in the shower.

The jury had worked "very well" together, he added, discussing misgivings about some parts of the case and discussing "inconsistencies." "We were patient," he said.

Franky Carrillo walks the campus of Loyola Marymount University. His backpack is filled with books. His days are now filled with freedom.

Carrillo spent 20 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit.

While incarcerated, Carrillo earned his GED, but says he always dreamed of going to college. Now he is a 37-year-old, part-time freshman at LMU, and Friday marks the one-year anniversary of his newfound freedom.

He says he feels embraced by the staff and students: "The community of LMU has been great. It's become a sanctuary for me. It has this element of a wonderland."

But it has been a long and difficult road to this "wonderland."

Read NBCLosAngeles.com's story on Carrillo's long road to freedom

In 1991, Carrillo was 16 years old and living in Maywood with his father. He ran with a bad crowd, but had never been in any trouble.

"I definitely wasn't an angel but I definitely was not a murderer," he said.

It was early morning, Jan. 24, 1991, when Carrillo says 15 sheriff's deputies with guns drawn stormed through the front door.

"My dad said in Spanish and I said it in English: 'What's going on? Why?' And no one would say anything until eventually someone said, 'You know why.' And that's all they gave us," Carrillo said.

Carrillo says a "gang" of corrupt and racist Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies -- known as the "Lynwood Vikings" -- coerced and threatened key witnesses into identifying him in a photo lineup.

Carrillo was convicted of murder and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

When Carrillo talks about his time in prison, he uses words like "dehumanizing," "demoralizing" and "isolating." He served his last 10 years at Folsom State Prison, where he says he feared for his safety.

"I was very afraid, but I think being afraid was one of the elements that kind of kept me alive because it put me very, very aware of my surroundings," he said.

Web Extra: Franky Carrillo on Life Behind Bars

Carrillo says he did not know the victim of the murder, and that he was at home watching TV when the drive-by shooting happened. He knew a mistake had been committed; the system had gone astray and sent the "wrong guy" to prison.

Carrillo wanted to prove his innocence. He began a letter-writing campaign, begging lawyers and media outlets to listen to him.

Finally, someone heard him.

Carrillo calls Ellen Eggers an "angel" who "lives justice; it just radiates from her."

Eggers, an attorney, says she was convinced of Carrillo's innocence after meeting him just once, and not just because his earnestness and manners, but more importantly because Carrillo had evidence from the real shooter.

Eggers says he showed her "a six-page, scrawled-out, in-pencil, handwritten series of notes that basically is a confession to the drive-by murder that Frankie was convicted of."

Eggers works as a public defender in Northern California, specializing in death-penalty cases. Because Carrillo was a minor when he was convicted, he was sentenced to consecutive life terms, not the death penalty, and therefore did not fall under Eggers' prevue.

But the more she learned of Carrillo's circumstance, the more Eggers was determined to get him freed.

Web Extra: Eggers' Tireless Efforts to Free Carrillo

Eggers took the case pro-bono. She gave up weekends, summers and vacations to prove Carrillo's innocence. She says it was a consuming project.

"The experience of spending that much time with Frankie just bonded me with him so completely. I literally felt that I was locked up with him," she said.

One of Eggers' biggest challenges was that Carrillo's conviction hinged on eyewitnesses.

"There was no DNA in Franky's case. There wasn't even a gun. I mean, it was all just eye-witness testimony," Eggers said.

Eggers was advised that in order for Carrillo to have any chance of getting his conviction overturned, all of the witnesses would have to recant their testimony.

This was a daunting task.

She says the detailed hand-written notes that Carrillo had shown her were critical in getting the witnesses to realize that "a mistake had been made."

Ultimately every witness recanted their testimony.

During one moving and surreal moment in court, a key witness apologized to Carrillo, and Carrillo forgave him, said Eggers.

When witnesses change their original testimony, it is often met with skepticism -- which is why Eggers implored the judge see the exact spot where the teens claimed to be able to see Carrillo as the shooter.

"It is absolutely essential that you see for yourself, so you don't have to know whether the witnesses told the truth back then or they are telling the truth now. You need to see with your own eyes," Eggers told the judge.

The legal teams and the judge visited the crime scene on a night when the moon was similar to the night of the crime. Then they reenacted the drive-by shooting.

This field trip proved invaluable.

Eggers says it proved to the judge that there was "no way, physically possible that anyone standing on the curb could have identified anyone inside that car that was driving by."

On March 14, 2011, the District Attorney's office conceded the case and two days later, Carrillo walked out of prison.

His conviction was overturned. He was free.

Although part-time now, Carrillo has been accepted as a full-time LMU student for the fall of 2012.

LMU President David Burcham says when he first met Carrillo, he was impressed with his "dignity" and that the school felt an "obligation to assist."

"As you know, when a prosecution is brought against an individual in this state, it's brought on behalf of the people of the state of California. We thought that when a mistake is made, that the people of California have an obligation to try to help," Burcham said.

Web Extra: Why LMU Wants Carrillo as a Student

Carrillo is now busy building a full and meaningful future for himself. In addition to being a student, he is politically active and lobbies against the death penalty. He lectures on campus and at juvenile halls about his experiences. He volunteers at an orphanage in Tijuana.

His work at the orphanage clearly moves him. He refers to it as "a jail of little kids that had been forgotten about."

Carrillo tears up when he talks about the connection he feels when he holds a small child.

"It takes me back to a time in prison, where I myself was deprived from human emotion -- being deprived from just being human," Carrillo said.

Despite experiences that few people can imagine, Carrillo says he believes in justice and forgiveness, and hopes to help others in any way he can.

Web Extra: Franky Carrillo on Starting Over

While he was in prison, Carrillo missed out on a lot. His son was born. His father died. He says it hurts him to think that his father did not live to see him free.

Carrillo lost 20 years -- good years, the years when most people go to college and find love and build careers.

Meeting him in person, it is hard not to notice how good natured he is. Polite. Hopeful.

He says although many people would understand if he were angry and bitter, he just can't be.

"I'm not bitter. It defeats the purpose of wanting to be free. I could not imagine my life now as a free man having a frown on my face."

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Authorities were searching Wednesday for a convicted murder with an "extensive" criminal history who was accidentally released from custody while awaiting a court appearance in South Carolina, the sheriff's office says.

York County Sheriff's Office

Thomas Aaron Whitlock was released Monday from the York County Detention Center, which only realized the mistake nearly 24 hours later when arrangements were being made to return him to prison, the York County Sheriff's Office says.

Thomas Aaron Whitlock, a 31-year-old convicted of second-degree murder in 2009, was let go Monday afternoon from the York County Detention Center -- which only realized the mistake nearly 24 hours later when arrangements were being made to return him to prison in Windsor, N.C., according to the York County Sheriff's Office.

Whitlock had been taken to York County for a court appearance on drug-related charges.

"I could go into a lot of discussions that we've had as to how this took place," Sheriff Bruce Bryant told The Charlotte Observer. "We deal with thousands and thousands of prisoners each year, book close to 7,000 prisoners each year. There has been a mistake made."

South Carolina records show Whitlock had previously been convicted on burglary, robbery and drug charges. He was arrested in April 2010 by FBI agents who found him hiding under a home in Dallas, Texas, and he was later sentenced to between 11 and 14 years in the death of Jamie Thompson in Charlotte, the newspaper said.

The Sheriff’s Office said it was working with other law enforcement agencies and the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction to find the fugitive. Bryant also has launched an investigation into how Whitlock was released.

Bryant announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to Whitlock's recapture. People with information were urged to call the Sheriff's Office at 803-628-3059 or to go online at http://www.yorkcrimestoppers.com/.

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