Expunged is a fictionalized story based on the life of Shaun Flowers, who at the age of eighteen found himself jailed for a petty misdemeanor. Until this unfortunate incident, Shaun had ended his secondary education in New Jersey with all the academic requisites and social skills for a promising future career. Rather than allow a damning and out-of-proportion criminal record negate a productive future, as was the case for multitudes of men of color during this period of time, Shaun and his family after a laborious and tortuous journey attained an expungement of his record. After excelling in college with a bachelor's degree in juvenile justice, Shaun pursued a career in criminal justice. In 1986 he became a police officer in Newark, New Jersey, and three months after graduating from the police academy he was selected to go undercover to help stem the onset of the crack cocaine epidemic. He became one of the city's best undercover narcotics officers, buying guns and large amounts of assorted drugs resulting in myriad arrests. In Expunged, the reader, trailing Shaun, witnesses the unglamorous, daunting, and dangerous experiences of an undercover narcotics police officer. In spite of commendations, notoriety, and praise by fellow officers for his "after the fact" role in the criminal justice system, Shaun comes to the realization that drug addiction is a sickness and offenders should not be jailed as harden criminals; instead, drug users should be sent to rehabilitation centers for treatment. Given his experiences on both sides of the fence, Shaun becomes an ardent spokesperson for a more proactive criminal justice reform system. Contemplating what he feels to be one of the first steps in this journey, Shaun begins crafting a more engaging and accessible expungement program.
