Auckland, Nov 18 NZPA - A $2000 reparation offer by one of three men convicted of the manslaughter of a Hamilton man will "in no way provide any meaningful recompense", a High Court judge says.

Tuale Fuimaono, Ahmad Matlobyaygazwini and Ali Rafiee were sentenced in the High Court at Auckland today for the manslaughter of 28-year-old Bjorn Henderson, in what prosecutors said was retribution for a drug robbery.

Fuimaono was jailed for eight years, Matlobyaygazwini for seven years and Rafiee for six years. They were found guilty of Mr Henderson's manslaughter in September.

Justice Graham Lang said it would be very difficult for the court to give any meaningful weight to a reparation offer to the dead man's family by Fuimaono.

But he gave him credit for his guilty plea to manslaughter before the trial.

Crown prosecutor Kirsten Lummis also questioned the merits of Fuimaono's offer to the Henderson family.

"This reparation from somebody who is going to jail for a significant time has to be viewed with some scepticism," Ms Lummis said.

Counsel for Fuimaono, Stuart Grieve said his client understood his offer of reparation would have very little impact, if any, on his sentence.

"There has been some rapport between the families, and he wants to give some practical recognition for that.

"He's not trying to buy a reduction in sentence," Mr Grieve said.

Sentencing the men, Justice Lang said the incident arose out of a situation where they decided to take the law into their own hands.

"It involved significant elements of pre-meditation, and reasonably persistent attempts to confront Mr Henderson," the judge said.

"One person should not be entitled to take the life of another. The court must act in a way that holds that person responsible by imposing a sentence that deters others from acting in a similar way."

Mr Henderson had been robbed of his life at a very young age, the judge said.

"He was a loved member of his family and spent a lot of time with them. They have lost a loved son and brother. They will never be able to share family moments again, and the damage is irreversible," Justice Lang said.

All three men had previous convictions. Fuimaono has more than 50, which included violence, threatening violence, threatening to kill and aggravated robbery, the court was told.

Justice Lang decided a minimum non-parole period was not necessary for all three men.

Mr Henderson was dumped outside Auckland Hospital's emergency department with head injuries late on March 9 last year.

He was pronounced dead early the next day.

The Crown said the trio planned to attack Mr Henderson following an attack three days earlier by him on Matlobyaygazwini, an Iranian immigrant with New Zealand citizenship.

Mr Henderson made off with methamphetamine, or P, and some cash following that attack.