diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index ca0096fb9..ec3302e27 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -130,9 +130,11 @@ codespell:
 	codespell . --skip ./.git -I .codespell-whitelist
 
 # TODO: add future protocol upgrade patch packages to linting.
+# NOTE: we use `pylint` just for catching unused arguments in spec code
 lint: pyspec
 	. venv/bin/activate; cd $(PY_SPEC_DIR); \
 	flake8  --config $(LINTER_CONFIG_FILE) ./eth2spec \
+	&& pylint --disable=all --enable unused-argument ./eth2spec/phase0 ./eth2spec/altair ./eth2spec/bellatrix \
 	&& mypy --config-file $(LINTER_CONFIG_FILE) -p eth2spec.phase0 -p eth2spec.altair -p eth2spec.bellatrix
 
 lint_generators: pyspec
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index aa4157b29..f11951415 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -514,7 +514,7 @@ def get_pow_block(hash: Bytes32) -> Optional[PowBlock]:
     return PowBlock(block_hash=hash, parent_hash=Bytes32(), total_difficulty=uint256(0))
 
 
-def get_execution_state(execution_state_root: Bytes32) -> ExecutionState:
+def get_execution_state(_execution_state_root: Bytes32) -> ExecutionState:
     pass
 
 
@@ -1008,7 +1008,7 @@ setup(
     python_requires=">=3.8, <4",
     extras_require={
         "test": ["pytest>=4.4", "pytest-cov", "pytest-xdist"],
-        "lint": ["flake8==3.7.7", "mypy==0.812"],
+        "lint": ["flake8==3.7.7", "mypy==0.812", "pylint==2.12.2"],
         "generator": ["python-snappy==0.5.4"],
     },
     install_requires=[
diff --git a/specs/altair/beacon-chain.md b/specs/altair/beacon-chain.md
index 2e897deb7..a14ddb4f6 100644
--- a/specs/altair/beacon-chain.md
+++ b/specs/altair/beacon-chain.md
@@ -521,7 +521,7 @@ def process_deposit(state: BeaconState, deposit: Deposit) -> None:
         signing_root = compute_signing_root(deposit_message, domain)
         # Initialize validator if the deposit signature is valid
         if bls.Verify(pubkey, signing_root, deposit.data.signature):
-            state.validators.append(get_validator_from_deposit(state, deposit))
+            state.validators.append(get_validator_from_deposit(deposit))
             state.balances.append(amount)
             state.previous_epoch_participation.append(ParticipationFlags(0b0000_0000))
             state.current_epoch_participation.append(ParticipationFlags(0b0000_0000))
diff --git a/specs/phase0/beacon-chain.md b/specs/phase0/beacon-chain.md
index 7172307c6..618f39637 100644
--- a/specs/phase0/beacon-chain.md
+++ b/specs/phase0/beacon-chain.md
@@ -1832,7 +1832,7 @@ def process_attestation(state: BeaconState, attestation: Attestation) -> None:
 ##### Deposits
 
 ```python
-def get_validator_from_deposit(state: BeaconState, deposit: Deposit) -> Validator:
+def get_validator_from_deposit(deposit: Deposit) -> Validator:
     amount = deposit.data.amount
     effective_balance = min(amount - amount % EFFECTIVE_BALANCE_INCREMENT, MAX_EFFECTIVE_BALANCE)
 
@@ -1877,7 +1877,7 @@ def process_deposit(state: BeaconState, deposit: Deposit) -> None:
             return
 
         # Add validator and balance entries
-        state.validators.append(get_validator_from_deposit(state, deposit))
+        state.validators.append(get_validator_from_deposit(deposit))
         state.balances.append(amount)
     else:
         # Increase balance by deposit amount