The sister of a gay Palmerston North man who was brutally murdered by two young men has told the Manawatu Standard she supports tougher sentences for violent criminals.

Stanley Waipouri was killed and mutilated by Andrew Gilling and Ashley Arnopp in December 2006. Convicted of his murder, both men were sentenced to a minimum non-parole period of 15 years in prison.

Now Stanley's sister Joan Waipouri says a sentence of 'life in prison' should mean just that.

"If some gay guy goes past them, how do we know it's not going to trigger them again?" she said.

The full Manawatu Standard story is on the link below.