The Mississippi Supreme Court was to hear arguments Monday from an Alabama man sentenced to death for a 2004 slaying in George County.

Joseph Bishop Goff, of Theodore, Ala., was sentenced to death in George County in 2005 for the slaying of Brandy Stewart Yates at a motel.

Goff was convicted of arson and capital murder for the death of Yates, of Irvington, Ala. Her body was found burned and mutilated in her room at the Rocky Creek Inn on Aug. 27, 2004.

Goff was sentenced to death for capital murder and 10 years for arson.

Prosecutors alleged Goff crushed Yates’ head using a nightstand drawer and later used the drawer’s metal track to mutilate her body.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol arrested Goff near Vicksburg the same day of the killing after a traffic stop. Authorities said items taken from the hotel room were found in Goff’s car.