DALLAS (AP) - The attorney of a North Texas man who drowned two of his sons says his client acted out of fear that the boys would grow up to be just like him.

Paul Johnson addressed the Dallas County jury Wednesday as Naim Rasool Muhammad's capital murder trial entered its penalty phase.

The jury deliberated less than 10 minutes before returning a guilty verdict in the August 2011 deaths of 5-year-old Naim Muhammad and his 3-year-old brother, Elijah Muhammad.

Johnson urged jurors to spare his client the death penalty, which prosecutors are seeking.

Prosecutors told jurors of Muhammad's history of domestic violence.

Jurors can sentence Muhammad to death or life imprisonment without parole.

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