diff --git a/state/execution.go b/state/execution.go
index 847ac131..4ccf87d4 100644
--- a/state/execution.go
+++ b/state/execution.go
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ func (blockExec *BlockExecutor) ValidateBlock(s State, block *types.Block) error
 }
 
 // ApplyBlock validates the block against the state, executes it against the app,
-// fires the relevent events, commits the app, and saves the new state and responses.
+// fires the relevant events, commits the app, and saves the new state and responses.
 // It's the only function that needs to be called
 // from outside this package to process and commit an entire block.
 // It takes a blockID to avoid recomputing the parts hash.
diff --git a/state/validation.go b/state/validation.go
index dfca78ac..fb3e8d13 100644
--- a/state/validation.go
+++ b/state/validation.go
@@ -12,11 +12,6 @@ import (
 //-----------------------------------------------------
 // Validate block
 
-// ValidateBlock validates the block against the state.
-func _ValidateBlock(s State, block *types.Block) error {
-	return validateBlock(dbm.NewMemDB(), s, block)
-}
-
 func validateBlock(stateDB dbm.DB, s State, b *types.Block) error {
 	// validate internal consistency
 	if err := b.ValidateBasic(); err != nil {