FARMINGTON – Accepting responsibility for her actions, Angela Mae Taylor, 36, of Portland impressed the court Friday with her attempts to turn her life around.

Taylor pleaded guilty and faced sentencing on a charge of helping her brother, Daniel Marcus Jackson, escape from the Franklin County Detention Center in August 2006.

A sentence of two years was handed down, with all but 21 days suspended. Credit was given for the 21 days she has served, leaving her with no jail time. Taylor was put on probation for two years and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

For a second charge of drug trafficking, she was given 21 days with credit given for time served and an $800 fine.

Assistant District Attorney James Andrews had requested a 2-year sentence with all but nine months suspended due to the nature of the offense. Andrews told Justice Joseph Jabar that the escape was planned during several taped phone conversations between her incarcerated brother and herself prior to her parking a van on the Holley Road and transporting him to Jay after his escape.

Andrews said the two charges were intertwined. Just three days before the escape, Taylor attempted to change her plea on the drug trafficking charge, Andrews said, suggesting that it would have been inconvenient for her to be jailed prior to the Aug. 13 escape.

Following questioning by Franklin County Detective David St. Laurent after the escape, Taylor admitted to helping her brother and provided information that eventually led police to him.

The drug charge stemmed from a search of her home that produced 5 grams of cocaine, marijuana and a drug ledger. The search was made after an informant told police she and another brother had taken over Jackson’s drug business while he was incarcerated in New York, Andrews said.

Attorney Margot Joly told the court that the state’s charge stemmed from the amount of drug found in her client’s room but not evidence that she was the seller.

“She was not the big player,” she said.

Joly told the court her client had acted because she was fearful for her brother and that he manipulated her. Taylor believed that he was not receiving help for his mental health issues at the jail but has since come to realize that “if someone needs help, you don’t help them escape,” she said.

On her own, Joly said, Taylor has since entered rehabilitation and done everything that she needed to do to complete treatment requirements. She’s found employment in Portland where she has been promoted to a managing position and is helping others in the treatment program.

Several letters on her progress, including one from her employer and an accountant who trusts her work, were impressive, Justice Jabar said. Two witnesses from the treatment program spoke on her behalf. Her program sponsor told the court that she couldn’t say enough about how Taylor helps anyone she can.

“She’s an example of how people can change,” she said.

Another witness told the court that jail time would not only hurt Taylor and her chances of success but would also hurt a lot of others that have chosen Taylor as a sponsor.

“There are no excuses for my actions,” Taylor told the justice.

Taylor’s willingness to help police find Jackson, her lack of a criminal record, the letters and witnesses, accountant’s trust and her significant growth over the last year is impressive, Jabar said.

He said he was also impressed with Taylor’s efforts to help right the wrong that she did and chose to give her the opportunity to continue to grow.